A Magical Wish
by WolfsbaneKnight
Summary: As a boy downtrodden at Privet Drive Harry wishes for a better world. The next morning he wakes up with the real world replaced by a Pokémon equivalent. With lots of questions and no one who can give him answers, Harry sets out to discover the truth, and just so happens to pick up a few friends along the way.
1. Wishing On A Dream

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello everyone. Welcome to my new HP/Pokemon crossover 'A Magical Wish'. This is completely unrelated to my previous HP/Pokemon crossover stories and should be something a little different.

Before reading it is important to note that this story takes place in the time between Chapter 2 of Philosopher's Stone, 'The Vanishing Glass', and before Harry finds out about Hogwarts. With that said please enjoy.

* * *

"Bye Piers," Dudley called through the open car window. Piers Polkiss, a small, rat-faced boy, grinned and waved.

"See you D."

Uncle Vernon pulled away from the side of the pavement, the Polkiss residence disappearing in the rearview mirror, and down the street. All the while silence fell on the occupants of the car.

Five minutes later they reach Privet Drive.

"Everyone in," said Vernon gruffly as they came to a stop on the gravel driveway. "I'll just be a moment. I want a word with the boy."

Harry gulped. That didn't sound good. Even Dudley noticed. He made a face at Harry as he left the car, his fear at nearly being eaten by a boa constrictor earlier that day having vanishing in face of the scolding Harry was about to receive.

"So," Uncle Vernon said shortly, his voice a dangerous rumble. "So." He eyed Harry menacingly over the back of the driver's seat.

"I didn't do anything," Harry protested, for all the good it would do him. "It was an accident. Honest."

"Accident," Vernon repeated, puffing up as though about to breath fire. "Accident." Harry didn't say anything. He clamped his mouth shut, ducked his head, and braced himself for his Uncle's retort.

Vernon, however, seemed satisfied by Harry's silence. He let out a heavy breath.

"That's right," he said. "You know what you did. Now time for your punishment." Harry flinched. "You'll go to your cupboard immediately and you will stay there until I decide you've learned your lesson, got it. I don't want to hear even a peep out of you. I want you to be so quiet that I can forget you are even there. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded silently.

"Say it, boy," Vernon spat. "Say you will go to your cupboard and be quiet."

"I will, Uncle Vernon," Harry promised in a quiet voice. He didn't dare glance up.

Uncle Vernon glared at Harry for a moment longer, before giving a satisfied nod.

"Go on then," he said. "Get inside. And don't let me hear a peep out of you until I say you can come out."

Harry scuttled out of the car, eager to get away from his Uncle before he thought up anything else to punish him for, and he hurried into the house. Inside Dudley was sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, smiling gleefully, probably seeing this as his favourite birthday present yet, and Harry bent his head to avoid looking at his smirk. He marched down the corridor and ducked into his cupboard.

As soon as he entered the cupboard door snapped shut sharply behind him, the bolt slid into place with a dull grinding noise, and then there was silence. The sounds from outside slowly faded away.

Alone, and with a long time of solitude stretching out ahead of him, Harry curled up on his threadbare mattress, wrapping his arms around his knees as he screwed up his eyes in an attempt to forget what had happened. But how could he forget, not when he was paying the price for his actions. If they even were his actions. But how could they be?

A lot of unusual things tended to happen around Harry, which didn't help him with fitting in with the Dursley family. They were all normal, upstanding members of society, while Harry had always found a way to make people uneasy. Maybe it was because he was so quiet, keeping to himself for fear of bringing on any more punishment from his relatives, or maybe it was because of the odd lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Or maybe everyone else, just like the Dursleys, suspected him of doing strange and unnatural things.

It was, of course, preposterous. Harry wasn't anything special, though even he had to admit that a lot of unusual occurrences tended to happen when he was around. Like the time he'd somehow ended up on the school roof, without having any intent or memory of attempting to scale the building, or the one time his hair had regrown overnight after Aunt Petunia had shaved it all off in annoyance at its wild, untameable appearance.

Either way this was easily the worst. Setting a Boa Constrictor loose on his cousin Dudley and best friend Piers, though again Harry swore it could not possibly have been his fault. Maybe it had been the snake that had done it. After all, it could not be normal for snakes to be able to speak to humans. That must have been it.

Harry rolled onto his side, his back to the door, and as he did so he became aware of the sound of kitchen utensils clinking together in the kitchen. His stomach rumbled. He wasn't actually that hungry, especially after being able to have a rare ice-lolly at the zoo, but as the smell of Aunt Petunia's beef casserole wafted into his cupboard it reminded him of how long he'd have to wait before he had the chance to eat again.

Harry let out a long sigh and closed his eyes, and as he did so his mind began to wander. He began to imagine himself in the Dursleys' kitchen, making the casserole himself, except this time it was just for him. He took in a satisfied sniff of the warm food and pictured himself sitting at the table, with all his favourite meals laid out before him.

And then the sounds of the Dursleys intruded. He heard Uncle Vernon's gruff laugh, Aunt Petunia's simpering doting, and Dudley's loud complaining, and the warm picture in his head slowly faded away. He curled up tighter, trying to ignore the noise from outside, but now he'd heard it he couldn't stop.

If only Harry's dream could have been true. What he wouldn't give for just one day for him to do what he wanted, not having to submit to what the Dursleys expected of him. He'd watch tv, whatever was on, it didn't matter. He'd take a long shower, or even a bubblebath. He'd stay up late eating ice cream and he'd fall asleep on the sofa with a full belly and a smile on his face.

But it was all fantasy. In the world that he lived in he was stuck under the thumb of his relatives, and he had no way out. He'd often dreamed that he might have somebody else out there, someone who could take care of him other than the Dursleys, but the older he grew the more the dream seemed to die. It was clear, at least to Harry, that in this world nothing would change. In this world this was all life had in store for him.

But still he wished, or just hoped, that somehow, someway, when he woke up it would be in a better world. And with that last, comforting thought in mind, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

A small light blinked before him in the dark. Harry frowned. He tried to reach out towards it but his arms wouldn't move. He wondered if he should panic. Was he in trouble? Somehow he knew, at at least thought he knew, that he was not. He settled into the darkness, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness, all the while watching the soft, twinkling glow in the distance.

A childlike voice giggled through the darkness.

"Hello," said Harry. The shining light seemed to be moving closer, the inky darkness around him starting to fade into a purplish hue as it neared. Harry looked around in awe as stars began to appear in the darkness, tiny little pinpricks of light that glistened innocently towards him.

The giggling voice sounded again, and Harry's attention was drawn back to the original source of light. He blinked. The light was brighter now, so bright it caused Harry to squint, and as he looked he began to make out some sort of shape, shadowed in the light. His lips parted softly.

"Who are you?" He murmured. The light flitted.

"Who are you?" It answered back in a playful tone.

"I'm Harry."

"You're sad."

Harry blinked. The light seemed to float nearer.

"I can make you feel better," it suggested, innocence and excitement in its voice in equal measure. "You shouldn't be sad, you're my friend."

"What do you mean?" Harry wondered, but it seemed the voice had other ideas. The little ball of light had begun to retreat, shrinking back down as it moved further and further away, until it had become indistinguishable from the stars around it.

"You'll see," the voice echoed as it went. Harry tried to see where the voice was going, straining into the distance, but all his eyes could see was the stars, slowly blinking away one by one, and the darkness steadily closing in around him. "Be happy, Harry."

And as the last of the stars twinkled from existence the world turned black, and Harry knew no more.


	2. The Neighbourhood

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry woke with a start as a large hand rapped on the door.

"Get up!" Uncle Vernon was outside his cupboard. "It's time for breakfast." There was a loud scrape as the bolt on the lock was pulled back.

It seemed Harry's punishment was over. He sat up, rubbing blearily at his eyes as the fog slowly started to clear, all the while trying to remember that strange dream he'd been having. It had been so unusual, even by Harry's own high standards, but even as he tried to remember what had happened the details seemed to slip through his fingers like finely grained sand.

One thing was for sure. Despite his overactive imagination he had not had a night's sleep so good in years. And so it was in a surprisingly good mood that Harry stood up and opened the cupboard door.

He stopped dead.

Lying just outside his cupboard, spread eagle on the ground before him, was one of the most bizarre sights Harry had ever seen. It looked like a sloth, and for one wild moment Harry wondered if the Dursleys had somehow stolen it from the zoo. But he couldn't even remember a sloth being at the zoo in the first place.

The sloth itself didn't seem quite right. It was a light brown colour, with two darker stripes across its back, and as Harry appeared in the doorway it looked up with sleepy eyes towards him.

Harry stared at the sloth. The sloth stared back. Neither moved.

The thundering of footsteps down the stairs broke Harry's concentration and he blinked, and looked away.

"What you doing, Potty?" Dudley's voice rang out as the chubby boy reached the hallway. "Having a staring contest?" Dudley laughed, pushing down the corridor and shoving Harry aside into his cupboard as he walked right over the sloth, his feet falling heavily around the weird creature's form.

The sloth didn't even flinch.

Slowly Harry pulled himself back out into the corridor, still staring at the bizarre creature that lay outside his door. He felt as though, by looking, things must begin to make sense, but as the seconds ticked by the mystery remained as obscure as ever.

A loud bang sounded from the kitchen, Dudley clattering his cutlery on the table in demand for food, and Harry was prompted into a response. Despite this weird and unusual appearance before him it appeared that the Dursleys were just the same, and so would be their expectations of Harry. And so, forcing his curiosity firmly to the back of his mind, Harry stepped away from the sloth, aimed his head forward, and made his way to the kitchen.

"There you are, what kept you?"

If Harry had thought things would be more normal in the kitchen he was sadly mistaken. While some things were instantly familiar - Dudley sitting impatiently at the table, Vernon reading the morning newspaper, walrus moustache quivering - others were most definitely not.

The main concern for Harry was the patio doors that led out onto the garden. They were open, which in itself was highly unusual, but what was increasingly puzzling was the appearance of what looked like a massive stone boulder lying just inside the doors.

And the weirdest thing of all this was that nobody seemed to care. No one, aside from Harry, paid any notice.

"Hurry up, Vernon needs his breakfast before he goes in to work," Aunt Petunia told him, chivying him towards the stove. Harry allowed himself to be directed, still reeling from the continued strangeness of the household, and he found himself standing by the kitchen counter where he automatically started pulling out pots and pans.

Then he looked up.

A strange plant was sitting on the windowsill ahead of him. Or at least, Harry thought it was a plant. But if it was, where was the plant pot? There was no soil, no roots, it seemed as though the plant was, for want of a better word, simply standing, on two tiny points that vaguely resembled legs. As Harry mechanically started going about making breakfast, his mind barely acknowledging the task as his body went through the motions, a large purple leaf shifted and a set of tiny eyes gazed upon him.

"Cherrim."

Harry had to stop himself from jumping. Even so his surprise was accompanied by a rattle of the pan in his hand.

Behind him Uncle Vernon grunted.

"Be quiet boy," the man growled, glaring over his newspaper at Harry. "This is the only peace I'll get all day." He turned the page.

Harry turned back to the stove, ducking his head. He took a deep breath.

"Vernon, could you please keep control of your Graveler," Aunt Petunia scolded in a shrill voice. "You know he's not allowed inside."

Despite himself Harry peered surreptitiously over his shoulder.

Vernon had a thoughtful look on his face. He turned to the patio doors.

"Eh," he grunted carelessly. "You heard her. Outside only." And to Harry's amazement the large boulder sitting in the doorway unraveled. It stood up on two stubby legs, a small face appearing on the middle of its round body, and it turned around on the spot and rolled slowly outside.

Harry knew that something was not right. But what? What were these strange creatures he'd never seen before? And why were the Dursleys so okay with their presence? They hated things that were strange or unnatural, Harry was living proof of that. But they appeared wholly unbothered.

And as Harry continued making breakfast, sliding a few slices of bread into the toaster, he allowed his gaze to turn to the kitchen window that looked out onto the back yard.

There were yet more of these bizarre creatures out there. Under the shade of a tree stood an animal that looked like a cross between a horse and a giraffe, with a weird bulbous tail, and it seemed rather annoyed, looking on distastefully as the weird rock, the 'Graveler', as Aunt Petunia called it, rolled in its direction. Further there was what could only be described as a rat scurrying around by the fence, though this one was at least ten times the size of any normal rat. Its worm like tail swayed in the air as it sniffed the ground.

Somehow Harry was able to make breakfast without burning anything. With freedom awaiting him once breakfast was over, provided he didn't do anything to cause the Dursleys to waylay him with further chores, he put the weird creatures out of his mind for later. He carried the plates laden with food over to the table and with that done let out an imperceptible sigh of relief. Going back to the kitchen counter, a plate of his own meagre scraps to sustain him, he finally felt himself start to relax.

As he returned to the kitchen counter the weird sloth from earlier slowly pulled itself in through the doorway. He eyed it wearily.

He wasn't the only one to notice.

"There you are," Vernon chortled. "Not quite quick enough this time, eh Slakoth?" He laughed, folding up his newspaper and putting it aside to focus on breakfast. "Well, there's always tomorrow."

"He would have been here on time," Dudley spoke up, his voice petulant. "Harry stopped him."

As one all three Dursleys looked towards him. Harry froze.

"Boy!" Vernon shouted, scowling ferociously. "How many times have I told you not to get in the way?!"

"Sorry Uncle Vernon," Harry said meekly. It seemed the Dursleys' acceptance of the unusual did not extend to him.

"Start work on the dishes," Aunt Petunia said waspishly. "You can eat once you're finished." And she pulled out a strange red and white ball from her apron. "Brionne, help out."

Red light flashed and Harry almost jumped, only just managing to keep his cool as a beam of energy shot past him, landing on the kitchen count to form into the shape of yet another bizarre creature.

"Brionne," the creature said cheerfully and for a moment Harry could only stare. It looked like a seal, a bright blue seal. It had a pink nose, strange white baubles for what looked like ears, and appeared to have a sort of dress, filled with white and blue waves, that flowed around it as it moved.

The Dursleys had already turned back to their meal, which was lucky as Harry stood struck dumb by the most recent arrival. The Brionne stared back, tilting its head. It gestured to the sink.

Maybe these creatures weren't so bad, Harry thought to himself as he went to work on the dishes. With Brionne's help there was much less scrubbing at congealed food and a lot more time and freedom to work as the creature provided water and bubbles to aid him. Harry actually found himself enjoying it, even as more dishes were mounted up next to him as the Dursleys finished their meals, and was almost disappointed when the last dish was set to dry.

"Good work," he said, smiling at Brionne. Brionne cheered. Harry turned back to where he'd left his food.

"Hey, stop that!"

Unbeknownst to Harry the sloth, Slakoth, had walked up behind him, climbed up the cabinets towards the kitchen counter, and had started to help itself to Harry's food. As it saw Harry had spotted it the Slakoth donned a look of panic and made a getaway. A very, very slow get away.

Harry watched in despair as Slakoth ever so slowly lowered itself to the ground.

"Forget it," he sighed, shaking his head. He'd gone without breakfast before, he'd be fine. At least it wasn't Dudley who'd stolen it this time.

And Harry had far more important things on his mind. Neither his Aunt Petunia nor Uncle Vernon had given him any additional tasks and, with Uncle Vernon already off to work, so long as he could avoid his aunt he could make it out of the house to freedom, until he had to return for lunch.

Silently, taking great pains not to make any noise as he tiptoed across the kitchen, Harry slipped into the corridor, beating Slakoth there by a mile, and as quickly and silently as possible he hurried across to the front door and slipped outside.

Harry let out a sigh of relief. Finally he had space to think. Finally.

He began to walk down Privet Drive. For the most part everything seemed normal. The street was quiet. Nothing was amiss.

That all changed when Harry turned from Private Drive to Wisteria Walk. There was only one house on this street that Harry had any reason to give attention to, and that was Mrs Figg's, the old lady with too many cats who often looked after Harry when the Dursleys wanted to go somewhere without him. And as he walked past Harry almost tripped.

A cat sat on the front lawn, licking its paws delicately. As Harry drew near it looked up, tilting its head.

This was no ordinary cat. It had soft grey skin and rather large ears, tipped with white. But what was most astonishing was its tail. It was as long as its body, longer even, as it was curled up like a spring, a white tuft of fur flicking rhythmically at the end.

A small silver name tag sat on the cat's chest and Harry, showing bravery he didn't think he had, crept closer.

"Mr Paws," he read and he looked up at the cat. It purred. Mr Paws was one of Mrs Figg's cats. Harry had seen his picture plenty of times over the years. But he did not look like that.

Almost as if Mr Paws was the straw that broke the camel's back all of a sudden the appearances of these strange creatures became more and more common. One house had a weird blue turtle in the front garden, spraying water from its mouth to water the grass. Another had an extravagant shelter out over part of their garden under which an ostrich-like bird, except with three heads and no visible wings, was tied up, nibbling at some seed.

Things only got weirder as Harry started to move away from the houses. As buildings were replaced by fields he saw what looked like deer, except with antlers covered in leaves, and a large bull with a huge mane of hair and gold rings on its horns. A small yellow blur buzzed past Harry, right by his ear, and an array of small birds fluttered in the trees. A large shadow soared above him.

There was a park up ahead and Harry slipped inside, winding his way into the shade of a tree as he sat on a park bench. Even here there were more of these strange creatures. A trio of small monkey looking beings were swinging on the climbing frame, one green, one blue, and one red, while below them a couple of small children were chasing, trying to catch them. A small brown hippo-like creature was sitting in a sandpit, half buried as a child continued to shovel more and more sand on top, all the while three women sat back in the shade, chatting with each other as they kept an eye out on their kids.

Beside these woman were three more of these creatures. A small panda bear, which looked as though it had a green tongue until Harry realised it was a leaf sticking out from its mouth, and a zebra, napping in the shade. The last of the three, standing looking over the children playing, resembled some sort of bulldog, except it was much larger, pink, and was standing on its hind legs. Huge, intimidating fangs rose from its lower jaw and its gaze swept across the park until it fell on Harry.

Harry stared. The pink bulldog stared back. Ever so slightly its head tilted forward and its eyes narrowed.

"Geez, what are you doing?" A voice sounded. "Don't you know you shouldn't stare down a Granbull."

Harry jumped. Startled from the bulldog's gaze, he looked around wildly.

There was nobody there. The mothers across the park remained gossiping, oblivious to his presence, and the children paid him no mind.

What he saw instead was a short, vaguely humanoid figure, its body a mix of black and blue, with wide, amber eyes and a tail flicking out behind it. Harry stared.

"What? Never seen a Riolu before?"

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading and for the great feedback from last chapter. Keep it coming as I love to hear what you're thinking.

I thought, since most Pokémon so far haven't been referred to by name, that I'd run a small list to identify each of the different Pokémon that appeared over the course of the chapter.

The 'Sloth' - Slakoth

"...a massive stone boulder..." - Graveler

"A strange plant was sitting on the windowsill..." - Cherrim

"...an animal that looked like a cross between a horse and a giraffe..." - Girafarig

"...a rat scurrying around..." - Raticate

"...a bright blue seal." - Brionne

'Mr Paws' - Glameow

"...a weird blue turtle..." - Wartortle

"...an ostrich-like bird, except with three heads..." - Dodrio

"...deer, except with antlers covered in leaves..." - Sawsbuck

"...a large bull with a huge mane of hair and gold rings on its horns." - Bouffalant

"A small yellow blur buzzed past..." - Cutiefly

"...an array of small birds..." - Pidgey, Starly, Pidove

"A large shadow soared above him." - Corviknight

"A trio of small monkey looking beings... one green, one blue, and one red..." - Pansage, Panpour, Pansear

"A small brown hippo..." - Hippopotas

"A small panda bear..." - Pancham

"...a zebra..." - Zebstrika

"...some sort of bulldog..." - Granbull

"...a short, vaguely humanoid figure..." - Riolu

That's all for now. I'll see you in the next chapter.


	3. Answers From An Unlikely Source

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The voice didn't come from the creature's mouth. Instead, now Harry was aware of it, the voice seemed to sound from inside his own head.

He quickly looked around once more, wondering if someone might be hidden in the bushes and playing a practical joke on him. But there was nobody there.

He turned back to the creature.

"You…" he said, his voice stuttering. "You can talk?"

He couldn't be sure but Harry thought he saw the creature roll its eyes.

"Okay, so you haven't seen a Riolu before," it confirmed. "Yes, I can talk. So long as a being has aura I can communicate."

"Aura?" Harry repeated. The creature cocked its head.

"You _really_ don't know anything, do you?" It asked. Harry shook his head. "Boy, I did not see this coming when I got up this morning."

"Me neither," said Harry, feeling some of his pent up frustration begin to seep out. "Could you please tell me what's going on? Because I woke up and all of a sudden there were these weird creatures everywhere that I'd never seen before. And I was at the zoo yesterday."

"Weird," said the creature. It looked out over the park, its eyes falling on the humans who still didn't seem to have noticed them.

"Listen, we should find somewhere else to talk," it said, turning back to Harry. "People will think you're weird holding a conversation with a Pokémon, even a Riolu." It looked behind them at the trees that bordered the edge of the park. "Follow me," it gestured.

And Harry, with no better lead into figuring out what was going on, followed.

The creature, Riolu it said it was, led Harry back through the trees, skipping on ahead as Harry had to struggle to keep up, protruding roots catching at his feet while low branches snatched at his clothes. For some time they continued like this, before the foliage began to clear up and a naturally worn path appeared before them.

The path led to a small hollow, where they came to a stop. Harry looked around.

"So, this is your home?" He wondered, admiring what seemed to be a really quite comfortable site.

"For now," said Riolu, sitting itself down on a rock. It gestured for Harry to do the same. "I never stay in one place for too long. A Pokémon like me is in high demand so I always have to keep an eye out for trainers."

"Sorry, Pokémon?" Harry repeated.

The Riolu pinched its nose.

"Yes, I forgot, you know nothing." That felt a little insulting, given Harry's whole world had been turned upside down overnight, but given his curiosity he held his tongue. "What do you want to know first?"

"What are all these creatures and where did they come from?" Harry asked immediately.

"By 'these creatures' I can assume you are referring to Pokémon, right," said Riolu. "Like me?" Harry nodded. "Well, as to what we are, that's a bit complicated. It's easier to start with where we've come from, although that raises plenty of questions on its own. We've always been here."

Harry frowned.

"But how?" He wondered. "If you've always been here then how come it seems to me you just appeared overnight. There were Pokémon living in my house that I'd never seen before and my aunt, uncle and cousin were acting like it was normal."

"Probably because it was," Riolu pointed out. "If you've never seen a Pokémon before then that's a problem with you, not the Pokémon. Are you sure you don't remember them?"

Harry silently shook his head. He could not believe it, it could not possibly be that Harry had just not noticed Pokémon before. There was no way. Surely.

Riolu watched Harry's expression and let out a sigh.

"Okay," it said heavily. "You've clearly got a lot going on so let's just slow down and start from the beginning. My name is Rory. Rory the Riolu."

"Rory?" Harry repeated, surprised.

"Yes," said Rory firmly. "The Riolu." He gave Harry a pointed look. "And your name?"

"Harry. Harry Potter."

"Good to meet you." Rory nodded politely. "Now, are you telling me that before today you had never seen any Pokémon, at all? You lived in a land of just humans?"

"Well, no, there were animals and stuff," Harry corrected. "Like cats and dogs and horses and things. My cousin Dudley had a tortoise. But no… what do you call them? Pokémon?"

"Yes," said Riolu. "That's what they are, what I am. As for cats and dogs…" Rory shrugged. "Never heard of them. Maybe you're just confused but there's no 'animals'. Just humans and Pokémon."

"I'm not confused," Harry said in frustration, although admittedly his entire being since waking up could be described as exactly that. "I know what I'm talking about."

"Okay, okay," said Rory, raising his paws. "I believe you. Just relax, okay."

Harry bit his tongue, swallowing a retort. He took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said, his voice more steady. "So, what are Pokémon?"

"Well," started Rory. "Pokémon are creatures. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they are mainly categorised into a collection of characteristics called typing. I'm a fighting type, and so is every other Riolu."

"Okay," said Harry. "And these types include different species of Pokémon? Like mammals or something?"

"Again, you've lost me," said Rory. "Mammals?"

"Never mind," said Harry, waving it away. "So all Pokémon have a type? What about my aunt's Pokémon, Brionne I think it was called?"

"Brionne is a water type," Rory said helpfully.

"It helped me wash the dishes," Harry agreed excitedly, remembering how it had produced bubbles from its mouth. That must have been what Rory was referring to. "So what about Slakoth and Graveler? They're not water type, right?"

"Correct," said Rory, nodding encouragingly. "Slakoth is a normal type and Graveler is a rock/ground type."

"Rock/Ground?" Harry repeated. "Is that one typing?"

"Pokémon can have up to two typings, at most," Rory informed him. "And every type matches up either positively, negatively or neutrally against the others. For example my fighting type moves would be super effective against Slakoth and Graveler because both normal and rock typings are weak to fighting type attacks."

Harry flinched.

"Attacks?" Harry repeated, feeling his stomach lurch uncomfortably. "What would you need… why would you attack something?"

"Well, Pokémon have to be able defend themselves, don't they," Rory retorted defensively, crossing his arms and frowning. "Sometimes we have to fight over territory, or for food, or for mates, or…" he trailed off. "But, I suppose you have a point, it doesn't sound right." He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Truthfully most Pokémon live in harmony, and when we do fight it rarely gets out of hand. Pokémon are much more resilient than you humans are."

That did help calm Harry's concerns a little, especially since Rory himself didn't look particularly roughed up or injured in any way. Still, he felt he was better off not asking about it again.

"Okay," he said, taking a deep breath and refocusing on the issue at hand. "So, the world is full of Pokémon?"

"Correct."

"And they are split up into a bunch of different types," continued Harry. Rory nodded encouragingly. "And all these types have different strengths and weaknesses."

"Got it in one," said Rory.

"And I don't have to worry about any Pokémon attacking me?" Harry asked anxiously. "I don't have to worry about, I don't know, Slakoth strangling me in my sleep?"

Rory laughed.

"As long as you haven't done anything to anger it," he chortled. Then he shrugged. "Besides, Slakoth are so slow, you would probably see it coming a mile off."

Unbidden an image of Slakoth, hanging from the kitchen cabinets, long claws inching ever so slowly to slash his throat, came to his mind. It was extremely bizarre and Harry found himself having to hold back a laugh himself. It struck him just how strange everything had been over the last few hours. Yesterday he couldn't even have imagined such a scenario, much less found it amusing.

A shadow fell upon Harry's thoughts as he was reminded of the Dursleys once more. With a feeling of dread he looked down at his watch, the hands ticking away behind the cracked glass, and noted the time.

"I've got to go," he muttered, cursing inwardly as his watch confirmed that he had run out of time.

As he stood up Rory followed his motion with an alarmed look on his face.

"Wait a minute," Rory objected. "We haven't even got started yet. We don't even know what happened to you." But Harry shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I really am," he said. "I'll come back later, I promise, I want to learn what's going on too. But I can't get my aunt mad at me, or she wouldn't allow me out the house." And with the thought of an angry Aunt Petunia in his head Harry hurried away from the hollow, leaving behind Rory the Riolu standing in his wake.

* * *

"You're late."

The words were out of his Aunt's mouth as soon as he stepped inside the house.

"Sorry Aunt Petunia," Harry said quickly.

"Hurry up then," she snapped. "Into the kitchen. We're having sandwiches."

Knowing that 'we' did not necessarily include himself, Harry kept his head down and shuffled into the kitchen. He quickly and efficiently put together some sandwiches, everything exactly where he remembered it, and by the time he'd put a plate together Dudley had come waddling down the stairs.

As Harry served lunch, quickly disappearing into the background as Dudley's piggy little eyes lit up, he set about making himself something to eat from the scraps that were left. Filling his bread with the last slice of ham, sprinkling on the remains of the grated cheese, Harry finished triumphantly and picked up his meal.

He stopped in his tracks. Inches away Slakoth was hanging from the cabinets beside him. It stared at him with a slow, steady gaze.

Harry glanced down at his sandwich.

"You're not getting it," he said, turning his body away to shield the snack. Slakoth didn't respond. It merely continued to stare at the food.

Wondering if this was a common occurrence in this world, where Pokémon seemed to have existed forever, Harry quickly ate, scarfing down his lonely sandwich, which made for a rather fulfilling day, food wise, and by the time he was finished Dudley had already made quick work of his own food and had disappeared off upstairs to play video games. With the food gone Harry hurried to clean up, eager to get back outside to see if he could find Rory the Riolu and finish their conversation.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Aunt Petunia's voice caught him dead in his tracks. Harry froze.

"I just…"

"You have work to do," his aunt snapped. "Consider it punishment for being so tardy. The grass is needing cut and I found a weed in the flowerbed."

Harry sighed inwardly. He had known this would happen.

"Well, then. Get a move on," his aunt ordered, clapping her hands together briskly. "Get to work. And if there is a single weed in that garden by the time Vernon gets home you can forget about dinner. Off with you."

And so Harry did as he was told. Resigned to his fate of continuing the meaningless existence he had before, he mowed the lawn and got on his hands and knees to pluck out the weeds in the flowerbed.

And as Harry had predicted he had only just finished with the last of the weeds when he heard the sound of Uncle Vernon's car pulling up into the driveway. He sighed deeply, the back of his neck burning from the sun, looking up into the steadily orange-ing sky as he listened to the chirp of birds, or rather bird Pokémon, in the nearby trees. Hopefully Rory the Riolu would stay. Hopefully he'd be able to see him, tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. Please continue letting me know what you think, I love hearing from you.

I hope this chapter has started to address a few of the questions about this new world and how things are different, specifically that it is still Privet Drive and Little Whinging (and not Galar or any other known Pokémon region), and that from everyone else's point of view the Pokémon are not unusual and have always been there. We'll find out more about what's going as the story progresses, and eventually we'll discover what exactly happened to cause everything to change.

Until next time.


	4. New Friends

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

The next day Harry did his best not to draw too much attention. He did exactly as he was told, quickly and efficiently providing breakfast for the three Dursleys to a quality that even the ever critical Uncle Vernon couldn't complain about, and once he had completed the dishes he made his way down the corridor, keeping an eye out in case Aunt Petunia tried to laden him with more chores, and stepped out the front door.

Free at last, Harry turned down Privet Drive and into Wisteria Walk. The Pokémon were out in force again, more than there had been even the day before, and Harry allowed his wandering gaze to pass over the many strange creatures of varying shapes and sizes as he strode along the street.

It was only when approaching Mrs Figg's that Harry came to pause.

Mr Paws was out on the front lawn again and this time when he saw Harry he stood up, stretching in a decidedly feline manner before meandering over, rubbing himself against Harry's leg and purring. Gently Harry reached down to pet him, and as he did Mr Paws' long springy tail flicked in his face.

"Harry?"

Harry jumped. So too did Mr Paws, who sprang away at Harry's sudden movement immediately. Heart pounding, Harry looked up to see who it was.

Mrs Figg stood in the doorway to her house, peering down at Harry as she stood propped up on her crutches. She looked rather confused by the sight of him.

"H-Hello Mrs Figg," Harry stuttered nervously, immediately feeling guilty as though he'd done something wrong. But Mrs Figg didn't appear angry.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sounding more mildly interested than suspicious.

"I was just petting Mr Paws," Harry answered. Then an idea struck him. "Actually, I was hoping to see you."

"You were?" Mrs Figg asked, blinking owlishly. "Are you sure?" It seemed as though the idea that anyone would ever want to spend time with her had never crossed her mind. "Why?"

Harry hesitated.

"I was hoping you could tell me more about your Pokémon," he said, fingers crossed behind his back. "I love hearing about them," he lied through gritted teeth.

Mrs Figg looked absolutely flummoxed. Harry understood. Usually he would rather be anywhere else other than listening to Mrs Figg talk about her cats, and he'd never been especially good at hiding it. Harry could only hope that his sudden change in attitude didn't arouse her suspicions.

"Well," Mrs Figg spluttered, pushing her glasses up her nose as they threatened to slip. "Well, of course. What a good idea. Why don't you come inside and I'll put the kettle on."

Taking a steadying breath Harry stepped up to the front door and, with one last longing look at the bright summer's day, he stepped inside.

Once inside the house Harry discovered that, no matter how much had changed in this crazy new world, Mrs Figg's remained exactly as he remembered it. The furniture was old and worn, the rooms cluttered, and the smell of cats hung heavily in the air. The sitting room was unseasonably warm, familiarly so, and Harry sat down on his usual scratched up sofa as Mrs Figg clinked around the kitchen.

There was one difference from what Harry remembered, and that was the cats themselves. In all the pictures around the room they'd been replaced, each and every one of them, by other, more unusual figures. These, Harry realised, must be the Pokémon, that Mrs Figg had instead of her feline pets, and Harry found himself searching the shelves and mantlepiece until he found a picture of Mr Paws, the grey, spring tailed Pokémon set against the backdrop of the sitting room window, just as the real Mr Paws could be seen curled up on the lawn outside.

"Drink up," Mrs Figg encouraged, pressing a porcelain teacup into Harry's hands."Drink it while it's hot." She struggled with her crutches as she tried to settle back into her old armchair, eventually falling into place with a grateful sigh. She lifted her teacup to her lips, and closed her eyes as she drank.

"Ah, that's the ticket," she said, smiling as her eyes opened and she blinked over at Harry. "Drink, boy."

Harry lifted the teacup to his lips, the hot liquid burning slightly on his tongue. He allowed the tea to sit for a moment, then swallowed.

Gently he rested the teacup on the side table.

"Mrs Figg," he said, hesitant to broach the subject once more. "Your Pokémon…?"

"Oh, yes," said Mrs Figg, seeming to suddenly remember why he was there. "Of course. I've got the album right here." She pat a large book lying next to her and, with no further encouragement, she flipped open the first page and dove straight in.

"Why don't we start at the beginning shall we," said Mrs Figg, stopping at a picture of a young girl, dressed in a summery dress with a floppy hat over her head, holding up a small creamy-pink, feline-looking Pokémon. Harry leaned in closer to see.

"Marbles was such a sweetheart," Mrs Figg doted, her eyes growing misty as she gazed at the picture. "Such a good girl she was."

Harry, who had been through Mrs Figg's photo album at least a dozen times before, remembered Marbles as a snow-white ball of fluff. And while there were similarities it was quite clear that this Marbles was very different.

"What kind of Pokémon was she?" Harry asked cautiously.

Mrs Figg blinked in surprise.

"Goodness gracious, don't you know?" She gasped, as though Harry had just deeply offended her. "A Skitty, dear. What are they teaching you at that school of yours?"

Harry had to swallow back a retort.

"I suppose we just haven't covered that yet," he suggested instead. Mrs Figg huffed.

"They need to fix the education system," she told him. Then she relaxed. "Oh well, I suppose it falls on me for you to be properly informed." And with that she began flipping through the pages until Marbles the Skitty was replaced by something else.

"Ah, now here's Marbles when she was evolved."

"Evolved?" Harry repeated.

"Yes, with a Moon Stone dear," said Mrs Figg, as though Harry was very stupid. "A nightmare to find, but well worth it. Ah, now here we have Casper the Meowth, another normal type. Such a rascal he was."

For the next hour Harry sat through Mrs Figg talk endlessly about her Pokémon until finally he couldn't take it any longer. It was too warm and stuffy, and the smell was just as overwhelming as ever, and even though there were still many pages left of the photo album Harry felt as though he could name every single cat related Pokémon there was, from Glameow to Skitty, to Meowth, to Purrloin, to Litleo and more. And with lunch time rapidly approaching Harry made his excuses.

"Do feel free to visit any time, Harry," Mrs Figg told him at the door, looking much more cheerful than she had when he'd arrived, and, waving goodbye, Harry hurried off back to the Dursleys.

After a quick lunch, making sure to do nothing that might upset his aunt, Harry crossed his fingers in the hope that he could escape for the afternoon. And he was in luck.

He had someone he really needed to see.

* * *

"Hello? Rory?"

Harry had retraced his steps of the previous day, though it had been far from straightforward. He'd made it to the local park easily enough, but as soon as he stepped off into the trees he began to lose his bearings. The path he had been expecting to find that would lead him to Rory's den had not appeared and, with everything very quickly looking the same as everything else, Harry found himself deeply disorientated. With no idea where he had ended up he was reduced to calling, and hoping that Rory would hear him.

"Rory?!"

Harry stumbled through some bushes…

… and there was Rory. He was sitting in his den, just like the last time Harry had seen him, and while he jumped up in surprise at Harry's arrival there was no doubt that he looked relieved.

"About time," he said, crossing his arms and giving Harry a stern look. "What kept you?"

Harry, still finding his balance, brushing off leaves from his shirt and trousers, opened his mouth to answer. But then he looked up and found that Rory was not alone.

A creature, a Pokémon Harry presumed, was standing in the clearing too. It was small, stood on four legs, with large ears, light blue but for its hindquarters, which were black, and a yellow star on the end of its tail. It gazed up at Harry with wide yellow eyes with a look that Harry was surprised to recognise as horror. The Pokémon had scampered away at Harry's appearance, backing into the base of a nearby tree, and it looked like it was attempting to make itself as small as physically possible, trembling in place.

Rory clapped his paws impatiently in front of Harry's face. "Well?"

"Sorry," Harry apologised, eyes moving away from the terrified creature to focus back on Rory. With the Riolu beginning to look quite peeved by Harry's inattention he hurried to explain.

"I was late for lunch," he said. "My Aunt Petunia made me do chores all afternoon, I couldn't get away. I really wanted to, I promise."

Rory didn't look particularly pleased with Harry's excuse, but he relented. It seemed his curiosity over Harry's mysterious origins was stronger than his annoyance.

Glad that he'd been able to appease the Riolu, Harry turned back to the other Pokémon in the clearing. It was still quivering madly.

"Is it alright?"

"He's fine," Rory said dismissively. He rolled his eyes. "Come on Melvin, stop being such a baby. This is Harry, he's not going to hurt you." The Pokémon didn't look convinced.

Rory turned to Harry.

"Don't worry about him," he said. "He's just a bit of a coward. Shinx are usually quite strong but Melvin here is scared of his own shadow."

Harry had expected Melvin to be affronted by Rory's description, but as Harry watched the Shinx merely bowed his head.

"He has a bit of an inferiority complex," said Rory, his tone slightly more considerate as he looked at the downtrodden Pokémon. "He hatched at the same time as his brother, you see. His much stronger and more talented brother. There's only so much getting kicked around you can manage before it takes a toll on you."

The Shinx let out a pitiful mewl.

"Anyway, that's not important," said Rory, suddenly very animated. "What is important is working out what's going on with you. We barely even got into it last time. What's going on?"

"I don't know," said Harry honestly. "One day everything was normal and then the next everything had changed and all these Pokémon had appeared as if from nowhere." He hesitated. "You do believe me, right?"

Rory hesitated. He glanced back towards Melvin, whose fright seemed to, at least for now, have been overcome with curiosity and with it a fair amount of doubt. Harry's stomach fell.

"You do believe me?"

"Well," Rory said slowly. "What you're saying _is_ pretty crazy, but…" He shrugged. "Weird things do happen. This could be something like that. Maybe it was the Unown that brought you here. Maybe Dialga, or Celebi…"

Shinx let out a sound.

"…yes, or Giratina," agreed Rory, nodding. "Mew could have been involved, and of course Arceus. All sorts of things can happen when Pokémon like them get involved."

"I have no idea what any of that means," said Harry, shaking his head. "But at least you seem to believe me. I really don't know what I'd do if you didn't, I really need someone I can talk to about this. No one else would take me seriously. Certainly not my relatives."

Melvin looked interested at that, and let out a curious sound. In response Rory raised his gaze to the sky, shaking his head.

"I'm not going to ask him that," he told the Shinx. "Seriously, what sort of question is that?"

Melvin ducked his head.

Harry was just about to ask what Melvin had said, although he had a feeling he was better off not knowing, when the fluttering of wings caught him by surprise and a small bird flew down and landed on his shoulder. He blinked. The bird blinked back.

"This is a friend of mine," Rory explained, looking rather amused by Harry's nonplussed expression. "Sheila, the Pidgey. Shiela, meet Harry."

Sheila twittered.

"Uh, hi there," said Harry, wondering whether he should reach out and pat her. Somehow it seemed like a very awkward thing to do.

"Harry here is the new mystery I'm trying to solve," Rory explained with a sardonic tone, talking straight to Sheila the Pidgey and acting as though Harry weren't even there. "He woke up yesterday morning having never seen a Pokémon before. He says they just appeared over night. We're looking into it."

Sheila twittered. Rory chuckled.

"What did she say?" Harry asked anxiously, looking back and forth between the two Pokémon.

Rory smirked.

"She said you've had an interesting couple of days," he said.

Harry sighed.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I have." He rubbed tiredly at his eyes. "I just wish I knew what was going on. Is there a problem? Do I have to fix it? After all everything else seems the same, so Pokémon appearing can't be a bad thing, can it? I just need to know how did this happen. And why?"

Melvin made a small noise. Sheila tweeted.

"You're right, I think we're all interested in what's going on," agreed Rory. "And I don't think the three of us have any way of answering. We were just discussing all the legendary Pokémon that could be responsible…"

Rory trailed off as Sheila twittered.

"Yes, we were thinking of Arceus," said Rory. "And Dialga, Mew…"

Melvin piped up.

"…Giratina," Rory agreed. "Are you from the distortion world?" Harry blinked obliviously back.

"Maybe not," concluded Rory, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose all we're good for is guesswork, really. It's not like we had anything to do with it."

That made sense, and gave Harry an idea.

"Is there anyone else who could tell me what's happened?" He wondered. "I mean, you were listing off all those Pokémon from before, maybe we could ask them?"

The three Pokémon shared a look.

"Well," Rory spluttered. "I mean, those are legendaries, I don't…" but he stopped as Shiela interrupted, twittering quickly. Rory raised an eyebrow. "You think…?" He fell silent again as Shiela continued. "And you're sure?" More twittering. "And it's not too far from here?" A short tweet, and a nod.

Rory looked contemplative.

"Well?" Harry asked desperately, beginning to feel frustrated at not being part of the conversation. "What was she saying?"

"It's a long shot," Rory admitted, looking to Sheila uncertainly. "But I suppose…" He bit his lip.

Harry waited with bated breath. Rory seemed to have gone completely still, thinking deeply, while Shiela watched on expectantly and Melvin looked between the two of them with wide eyes. The den was tense and silent.

Rory shifted on the spot. He looked up decisively.

"It's the best we've got," he said, looking at Harry directly. "Sheila knows of a cavern not far from here, a sacred place. Supposedly some mysterious deity lives there. We should be able to visit."

"We can go there?" Harry gasped, excited. "And this… this deity… they'll have the answers?"

"It's possible," said Rory uncertainly. "They'll surely know more than we do. No promises though."

"If ever there were someone who would know the answer to your problem it would be a legendary Pokémon," said Shiela firmly.

Harry nodded. That made sense. Then he froze. Slowly he turned to look at the Pidgey on his shoulder, his heart stopped dead, and he blinked. His mouth fell open.

* * *

**A/N:** And with that we have another chapter. Thanks to everyone who has read and let me know they're enjoying the story. I love hearing from you so keep it up.


	5. Covert Operations

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"You talked," Harry breathed. His heart pounded, as though trying to make up for the long moment it had stayed frozen in his chest, and his mind reeled.

"What?" Said Shiela, blinking owlishly at him, and Harry felt his heart jump again.

"You just did it again," he said, his eyes widening. "I can understand you."

"Is he going mad?" Came a timid whisper and Harry turned his head to see Melvin looking up with concerned eyes, though he shrunk away immediately as Harry looked at him.

"I'm not mad," said Harry. "Right?" His voice shook. "I'm not… I'm just understanding you."

"People don't understand Pokémon," Rory told him, his voice firm. "I am an exception, not the rule."

"But I heard them," Harry pointed out, looking around at where Melvin was shrinking away from him and to where Sheila still sat on his shoulder. "Sheila said if anyone knew the answer it would be a legendary, then she said 'what', and then Melvin asked if I was going mad. I understood it all."

There was a small silence in the den.

"Well," Sheila's voice piped up from his shoulder. "It looks like we've got ourselves one more mysteries to solve." She looked at Harry. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. Shiela the Pidgey, a pleasure to meet you." She held out her wing.

"Thank you," said Harry, reaching out his fingers to hold it. "Harry Potter."

Sheila flinched.

"Not too hard," she told him and Harry quickly let go in alarm. "Bad wing."

"Sorry," Harry said apologetically. Sheila shook her head.

"My mistake," she told him. "It's been so long since I've stretched it fully, sometimes I forget."

Harry nodded in understanding. Unconsciously his hand went to the scar on his forehead. He had no idea what had caused it, other than the fact he'd gotten it during the car crash that had killed his parents. One of the many parts of Harry that made him unusual it was easy, sometimes, to forget it was there. Only when he came to a mirror was he brutally reminded.

Nearby Rory was trying to get Melvin to calm down.

"Come on, stop being such a baby," Rory scolded. "He's not any different now than he was a few minutes ago."

"I wasn't keen on him a few minutes ago," Melvin protested. Harry almost laughed.

"Melvin," he said, stepping towards him. Melvin went very still, like a rabbit caught in the headlights, which caused Harry to stop in his tracks. He hesitated, before he slowly lowered himself so he was kneeling on the earthy forest floor.

"I promise, I don't mean you any harm," he said softly, trying to project warmth into his voice as Melvin continued to view him with fear. "I'd rather be your friend, if you want."

Melvin hesitated.

"Well," he said, raising his eyes slowly. "I guess you've been alright." Then he seemed to gain courage, straightening up fully. "And Sheila seems to like you so I suppose you're okay." Sheila clucked.

"What a flatterer," she chuckled. Harry smiled.

* * *

Talking with Rory, Melvin and Shiela was a bizarre yet enjoyable occasion. Harry found that, despite the species barrier, he really liked having their company, from the straightforward, no-nonsense Riolu, to the timid, yet kindhearted Shinx, and the friendly, goodnatured Pidgey. In fact, for the first time in a long while, Harry actually felt like he had friends. Very unusual friends, sure enough, but friends nonetheless.

But though Harry enjoyed hanging out with them there was no mistaking that they were together for a reason, and that was to get answers.

Shiela was the one who had given them their only lead on the matter. Apparently, during her younger days before the accident had hampered her ability to fly, she had often travelled far and wide, and from her travels she knew of the cavern where the supposed deity lived. It was due west, as far as Shiela remembered, which wasn't really much to go on. They needed something more concrete if they were to consider going to the cavern, and it was Harry who came up with the answer.

Over the years the Dursley family had gone on many trips in Uncle Vernon's trusty company car, and occasionally Harry would get the chance to join them. And while Uncle Vernon was no expert when it came to navigation, he certainly liked to think himself as one. Every so often he would pull over at the side of the road, produce a map from the glove compartment, and upon examining it thoroughly they would set off once more.

It was these maps that Harry, Rory, Shiela and Melvin were interested in. If Uncle Vernon could use them to navigate his way from Surrey to Kent then Harry should be able to use them to find the cavern, and find out how they could reach it. And so they split up, with the plan to meet again once Harry had completed his mission.

That night Harry spent the hours of darkness awake in his cupboard. Dinner had been an unbearable wait, though for the Dursleys it must have seemed normal, as Harry plotted in his head what he would do under cover of night. It shouldn't be difficult, Harry had plenty of experience avoiding his relatives over the years, but the danger of getting caught always hung heavily over him.

Harry checked his watch. Just past midnight. Everyone should be in bed by now. It was time for Harry to make his move.

For many years Harry had called the cupboard under the stairs his home, the one place where only he would ever enter. And in all that time the bolt had been fitted on the outside. And while that meant Harry was very firmly locked in, it also meant he'd had plenty of hours to figure out how to escape.

It took about ten minutes of Harry working the bolt through the crack in the door, utilising the end of a broken hanger he'd been given un-ironically as a gift for his seventh birthday, to free himself from his cupboard. He slowly pushed the door open, the tiniest creaks sounding as it swung, and stepped out into the hallway.

The house was not silent; silence would be concerning. There were always noises in the Dursley household, as Harry had learned over the years. The sound of video games could be heard up from Dudley's bedroom, though Dudley had all but certainly fallen asleep whilst playing. Uncle Vernon's grunted snores echoed through the house.

All was as it should be. Harry was free to roam.

His first stop was the front door. There, sitting on a side table, was a bowl where the Dursleys kept their keys. There were a lot more than there really needed to be, keys ranging from things like the doors and the windows, to the shed out in the garden, and the doors to the garage. Uncle Vernon's car keys, fortunately for Harry, were rather distinctive, and easily stood out from the rest. Harry spotted them right at the top, where Uncle Vernon had tossed them that very afternoon. He nicked it. A slight tinkle sounded as the keys clinked against the ceramic bowl, and Harry fell still, listening to see if anybody in the house had noticed. They hadn't, so Harry stepped away from the door and moved on to the next stage of his plan.

The garage was connected to the house via a small door just off the kitchen, and Harry tiptoed over the tiled floor and let himself in. The garage itself was mostly taken up by Uncle Vernon's car, parked awkwardly slanted, along with a few other bits and bobs that had been stored away over the years, most notably an old bookcase and chest of drawers that sat along the far wall, gathering dust. Checking to make sure he was still going unnoticed Harry stepped inside, forgoing the light switch for fear the Dursley's might notice should they get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and swung the door closed behind him.

Alone in the stifling dark and quiet of the garage Harry slowly approached the front passenger side of the car. He slipped the key into the lock, turned it, and pulled the door open.

Opening the glove compartment Harry had to react fast as the contents threatened to spill out, instinctively slamming the compartment shut and catching the contents just as it threatened to fall. His heart pounding, Harry took a steadying breath. He glanced towards the garage door. It was still quiet, no one had heard him. He let out a sigh of relief.

Taking a deep breath, glancing at the garage door once more, Harry squeezed into the passengers seat and, ready to catch anything should it fall, he opened the glove compartment once more.

The glove compartment was packed. It took several minutes for Harry to work through everything that was stuffed inside, using a torch that had helpfully been tucked under his seat to see in the dark. It looked as though Uncle Vernon had stuffed pretty much everything in there, from maps, to receipts, to old chocolate wrappings, to registration documents. Steadily Harry picked through them one at a time before he eventually found what he was looking for; a map including Little Whinging and the surrounding area. Harry squinted at it, trying to deduce where the cavern would be, but he knew he had time later to find out. For now Harry stuffed the rest of the documents back into the glove compartment, forced it closed, and switched off the torch, replacing it beneath the seat. He stepped out of the car, his chosen map tucked safely under his shirt, and swung the door shut with a soft thud.

Something shifted in the dark. Harry froze.

He was not alone.

Harry stayed perfectly still, his ears pricked, waiting, holding his breath, to hear the noise again. And then he did.

The sound was coming from the opposite side of the car. It was a low, rumbling sound, not unlike that made by Uncle Vernon's tyres on the gravel driveway. Slowly, his heart hammering painfully in his chest, Harry lowered himself silently onto his hands and knees, and peered beneath Uncle Vernon's car.

The rock and ground type Pokémon, Graveler, lay curled on the opposite side. Harry's breath froze inside him as he realised how close it had been this whole time. It must have been asleep. But now it wasn't. Gnarled, rocky hands freed themselves and pressed against the stone ground beneath as the large boulder slowly began to move.

Harry's pulse quickened. Realising he had mere moments before Graveler would find him Harry did the only thing he could think of and jumped to his feet. The door to the garage was just feet away and by some incredible stroke of luck Graveler's view was blocked by Uncle Vernon's car, giving Harry just a few seconds before Graveler would turn the corner and see him. Throwing caution to the wind Harry flew towards the door, barrelling his way through it, before he turned and swung it shut behind him.

Panting heavily Harry stood with his back to the door. He had been much louder than he had meant to, the closing of the door having let out a muffled thump, and Harry waited with bated breath hoping that it hadn't notified the Dursleys of his escape. For several long seconds he waited, the tick of the kitchen clock ringing loudly in his ear.

But after a while it became clear that nothing was going to happen. Seconds turned into minutes and Harry remained still at the door, listening, as the sounds behind it fell quiet. Graveler, it seemed, had settled back to sleep.

Harry let out a breath. That had been close. Too close. But he had done what he'd meant to do. The map he'd taken from Vernon's car remained safely tugged beneath his shirt.

Shaking from the nerves of his close escape, Harry made to complete the final stage of the plan. All he had left to do was replace Uncle Vernon's car keys in the bowl, then lock himself back in the cupboard to await the morning. Thinking that, knowing that the hardest part of his mission had been cleared, a small smile found its way to Harry's face. Patting himself on the back, Harry moved away from the door and stepped across the kitchen.

As he did so his gaze swept across the window and his heart stopped dead.

On the other side of the glass stood Aunt Petunia's half-horse, half-giraffe hybrid Pokémon, and it was staring right at him. It was as though his aunt herself were fixing him with that disapproving glare. Harry swallowed.

"Please," he murmured, glancing over his shoulder to ensure he wasn't attracting the attention of the Dursleys. "Please, don't say anything. Don't tell anyone I was here."

It was hard to say how much his words were getting through. The window was closed, the Pokémon couldn't possibly hear him, but he was sure his beseeching must have been obvious. He pleaded desperately with the Pokémon, begging for it not to raise the alarm, all the while the Pokémon just stared.

And then… it turned away, walking from the window as though it had lost interest, and Harry was left alone in the kitchen. He had no idea what the Pokémon was thinking, but at least it hadn't raised the alarm. Maybe it was planning on telling on him in the morning, but at least for now Harry was free. Not wanting to test his luck, and knowing there was little more he could do, Harry replaced Uncle Vernon's key and returned to his cupboard.

As he finished refitting the bolt Harry knew he was in for a sleepless night. All he could do was wait.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

To Sparkpikachu: I didn't think about that until you mentioned it. Now I can't stop thinking about it. While I wish that the Pokémon world has vegetarian versions of ham and sausages and everything I can't help thinking that they have loads of Tepig farms instead.

Anyway, please let me know what you thought and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	6. On The Way

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"You got it?"

It was the next day and Harry had returned to the clearing where he found Rory, Melvin and Shiela waiting.

"Yeah," said Harry, showing them the map. He chose not to mention how close he had been to getting caught. While Harry's prediction of a sleepless night had come true his worries of being turned in were proving unfounded. The Dursleys were blissfully unaware of Harry's late night wanderings and Aunt Petunia's Pokémon, the one who had caught Harry in the act, had not even come visit the house, much less rat Harry out. It seemed he had gotten away with it, if only just.

"Oh, now this is interesting," said Shiela as Harry spread the map out on the ground for them to see. "How do we work this?"

"Well," said Harry, squinting down at the map. "We're here… more or less." He pointed at Little Whinging. "And if we know where the cavern is then we can use this map to figure out how to get there."

"You said the cavern was west of here," Rory asked Shiela, kneeling next to the map. No longer was he using aura to communicate, now that it was clear Harry could understand him. It sounded the exact same to Harry.

Rory glanced at him. "Which way's west?"

Harry hesitated. "Um…" He rotated the map on the ground, frowning. "This way."

"You sound so sure," said Rory sarcastically.

"I am," said Harry, this time with confidence. "West is left on maps."

Shiela hopped forwards.

"In that case…" She squinted down at the map beneath her feet. "It will take us a few days… so we should be aiming for about here." She pecked her beak on the map.

"Then that's settled," said Rory, pushing himself to his feet and dusting himself off. "If we set off now we could have our answers in just a couple of days."

Harry hesitated.

"A couple of days?" He repeated. "That's quite a long time."

"Not really," Shiela chirped. "Besides, that's only the way there."

"That's my point exactly," said Harry. "I can't leave for that long, my relatives will notice."

"So?" Asked Rory. "You want to find out what's going on, right?"

"Well, yes…"

"So that's it," said Rory firmly. "That's your choice. We either go and find out what is going on or we don't, and you have to be okay with not knowing."

It was coercion, Harry knew full well that Rory was too invested in this mystery to turn down the chance of finding the answer just because Harry wasn't going to come along. Even so Harry knew he had to see for himself. The thought of what could happen when the Dursleys found him, and they would find him eventually, was petrifying, but Harry had to know the truth.

"Okay," he said. A heavy weight seemed to settle in his stomach. "I'm in."

"Great," said Rory. "Now we're all agreed, let's pack up the map and get going."

"Now?" Melvin squeaked, his eyes going wide.

"Did you have a better time?" Rory wondered. "Come on, Melvin."

"But I've not agreed to come yet," Melvin protested. "It could be really dangerous. What if we get lost?"

"We won't, Melvin," Shiela said soothingly. "We've got a map, and I know where we're going. We'll be fine."

While Shiela's words seemed to have a calming effect on Melvin, Rory seemed to be getting more and more ticked off. He'd crossed his arms, tapping his foot and scowling.

"If you want to stay behind then fine," he said irritably. "Honestly Melvin. It's going to be no more dangerous out there than it is here, use your brain." Melvin ducked his head in shame.

"It's alright, Melvin," said Harry, and the tiny Shinx looked at him. Harry turned away from Rory and kneeled down. "Why don't you think of this as an adventure."

"That sounds a bit scary," Melvin admitted softly.

"Why don't you say that to your brother," snarked Rory. "See what he'll make of it."

"Rory," snapped Shiela. She sent the Riolu a sharp look. Rory turned away.

Harry turned back to Melvin, only to find that his head had dropped. Clearly the thing with his brother was a big deal.

"You know," said Harry. "I don't have a brother, but I do have a cousin, and he's always trying to make things difficult for me."

"Really?" Melvin asked pitifully. Harry nodded.

"I know it can be difficult but sometimes you just need to forget about them," Harry told the Shinx. "Don't let your brother bother you when they're not around."

"That's easy to say," said Melvin.

"Yeah," Harry admitted softly. What did he know anyway? He really shouldn't be giving out advice when he was the one stuck living under the stairs.

Shiela fluttered down on his shoulder.

"I think Harry is right," she said firmly, puffing out her chest. "You needn't worry about what your brother is doing. You should just focus on yourself." Harry looked at her, and Shiela gave him an encouraging nod.

"Right," said Harry, standing up. "And I'm going to forget about the Dursleys. Finding out what is happening is more important than that." Harry looked Melvin in the eye. "And I'd quite like it if you'd come with me."

Melvin's ears perked up.

"You mean that?" He asked.

Harry nodded.

"Okay," he said, bending down to pick up the map, quickly folding it up before straightening up again. "Let's go."

* * *

Their journey to the mysterious cavern took them due west, and so they walked in that direction, or at least that's what the three Pokémon assured Harry they were doing. Harry, trying to read the map, very quickly found himself lost on it. He had never hiked anywhere before, much less used a map for navigation, and without any features Harry could recognise he quickly came to the conclusion that he should give up. And so, with the map folded up in his pocket, Harry trusted the three Pokémon and their natural sense of direction to lead them onward.

With his attempts at map reading put on hold Harry put their destination from his mind and took the time to enjoy the scenery instead.

It really was incredible. Harry had never seen such vast, unspoiled wilderness before, and the beauty of the forest they walked through was only added to by the Pokémon of all shapes and sizes that inhabited it. There were living mushrooms and fungi on the forest floor, small birds chirping in the trees above, and a large variety of insects ranging from the small to the large, the bright to the dull, the beautiful to the terrifying. A small fox like Pokémon jaunted across their path, looking dismissively towards them as it passed, followed by a much larger Venus flytrap plant that merrily tried to gobble them up in its enormous jaws, before Rory sent it on its way. Two leak carrying birds stood in locked combat together, all the while an enormous grass covered tortoise watched on and the tiniest of spiders weaved a web in the trees.

Harry couldn't help but point to each and every one of these new Pokémon, asking incessantly what they were called, what type of Pokémon they were, wondrously trying to learn everything he could as Shiela patiently answered all his questions. Harry knew he must be getting annoying but he couldn't help himself. It was as though a whole new world had opened up before him and, from what Harry could see, it was incredible.

Eventually a rather grouchy Rory complained for them to shut up or they'd be turning back, leading Harry to restrain his interest and keep his mouth shut, observing quietly the stunning scenery instead, drinking in the vibrant wildlife in silence. Riding on his shoulder Shiela fluffed her feathers.

She gave him a sideways look.

"Aren't you worried your relatives might miss you?" She asked curiously, tilting her head. "I imagine they'll be in quite a panic once they realise you're gone."

The idea of the Dursleys running around Privet Drive desperately trying to find him made Harry snort. He hurriedly turned an apologetic look on Shiela.

"Sorry, it's just… well, my Aunt and Uncle really don't like me much at all," he told her. His amusement faded, to be replaced by a very real imagining to how they'd react to his disappearance. Uncle Vernon's anger alone made him shake.

He ducked his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself, and then he looked up to find Shiela watching him.

"They see me as a nuisance," Harry told her, shaking his head. "They'd rather I weren't there. They haven't exactly been subtle about it." He shrugged. "They're probably just annoyed I'm not going to be there to do the cooking."

Shiela looked concerned.

"Then why do you live with them," she asked, cocking her head in confusion. "If they don't like you, and you don't like them, than why not go somewhere else."

Harry bit his lip.

"I have no choice," he admitted. He hesitated. "My, eh, my parents, they, well…" He took a breath. "They died," he admitted eventually. "In a car crash when I was a baby. I don't remember them much… or at all, really… but, Aunt Petunia is my mother's sister so I ended up with her." He shrugged. "I hate to say it but the Dursleys are really the only family I have left."

He caught a glimpse of Shiela's expression and looked away. He hated pity.

"Oh dear, you poor thing," said Shiela mournfully. She shifted on his shoulder, the movement causing Harry to look up. She was looking at Rory. "He's just like you."

Rory didn't turn. He didn't give any indication that he'd even noticed Shiela had said something, but the stiffening of his shoulders gave him away.

"Rory lost his parents when he was young too," Shiela explained in a quiet voice. "They were caught by trainers."

"Really?" Harry asked, askance. "That's awful. I'm sorry." Somehow he could tell that Rory was still listening. Rory, on the other hand, didn't bother to respond.

"It's a part of life, unfortunately," Shiela said sadly, fluffing up her feathers. "Trainers catch Pokémon and sometimes that leaves marks, either on the ones caught, or the ones left behind."

Harry felt ill at the thought.

"Two of my siblings have been caught," chimed in Melvin, though he didn't seem remotely concerned about it. "That's why mum and dad train us. It's almost expected that a trainer will turn up one day." Melvin's head drooped. "I just know I'll be a disappointment."

With the darkening of the conversation the surroundings seemed to darken too as the sun began to descend, the trees around them casting long shadows across the ground.

Shiela seemed to realise things had taken a turn for the worse.

"How about we get something to eat?" She suggested, raising her voice loud enough for Rory to hear up ahead. Harry's stomach rumbled. Shiela clucked in amusement.

"I suppose that means yes," Harry said ruefully, rubbing his stomach. In the excitement of their journey Harry hadn't realised just how hungry he was. Then he hesitated. "Eh, I don't have any food."

"Not to worry," Shiela informed him and a moment later she took off from his shoulder, fluttering slightly awkwardly into the branches above them to where a collection of bright green berries sat. Shiela plucked one off, swallowing it quickly with a satisfied chirp, before she grabbed another one and fluttered down to Harry.

Harry looked at her doubtfully.

"Is this for me?" He asked, pointing to the berry in her mouth. Shiela nodded. "Okay." He accepted the berry tentatively, Shiela watching in anticipation, and he raised it to his mouth.

"Ugh," Harry cried, spitting out his bite almost as soon as he put it in his mouth. He bent over, retching as he tried to expel as much of the berry as possible, the taste lingering horribly on his tongue.

Shiela, dislodged from her perch on his shoulder, fluttered to the ground anxiously. "What's wrong?"

Harry tried, but he could not explain just how bad that had tasted. He felt as though he was going to be sick.

"I told you," said Rory, in a slightly smug tone of voice as he approached. "Not everyone likes those types of berries, Shiela. They're too bitter."

"Melvin likes them," Shiela complained petulantly.

"Melvin's just too scared to tell you otherwise," Rory retorted. Both of them turned their eyes on the Shinx.

"Sorry Sheila." Melvin ducked his head in embarrassment. "I did try to like them."

Rory rolled his eyes.

"Why don't I go out and find something the rest of us can eat," he suggested. "Wait here." And he hurried off, leaving the group alone.

He was gone for no more than five minutes, in which time Shiela thoroughly berated Melvin for not being honest with her, but when he returned he did so with his arms full of at least a dozen slightly larger blue berries.

"Bluk berries," Rory told him, depositing them on the ground and immediately enticing Melvin to take a snack. "Not as bitter as the Rindo and a little more sweet. Try it." He held out a berry expectantly.

Hesitantly, having already been burned once by accepting food from these Pokémon, Harry took the berry and held it up to his eye-line. Steeling his courage, Harry lifted the berry to his mouth and took a small, tentative bite.

A few moments passed before Harry's eyes opened.

"Hey," he said, genuinely surprised. "This is great. I love it."

"Told you," said Rory, throwing a smirk Shiela's way. "Now let's get going, we can eat while we walk." And he set off, picking a few berries from the pile as he went.

Slowly Harry and Melvin followed him, quickly gathering up the rest of the berries so they could snack as they walked. As they begun walking once more Shiela landed back on Harry's shoulder with a humph.

Harry glanced at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't like your berry," he told her quietly. "I'm sure it must be really good for you to like it so much." Shiela seemed to relax slightly. She sighed.

"I suppose not everyone's taste is the same," she admitted tiredly. She stretched out a wing, grimacing.

"Are you alright?" Harry wondered, concerned. "Is your wing bothering you? I thought you looked a bit awkward."

"Oh, you noticed." Shiela blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I have a little bit of a problem. It's no big deal."

"What happened?" Harry didn't know much about Pokémon but he did know that something serious must have caused an injury that was still hurting after so long.

Shiela shrugged it off.

"Oh, just a freak accident," Shiela said lightly, although Harry could tell it bothered her. He held her gaze and Shiela relented. "Some boy was throwing stones at Pokémon," she continued. "I wasn't paying attention and got hit. I fell and so did the rock and it landed on top of me, trapped me at a funny angle. It took a long time before Rory came to the rescue. Ever since my wing's just not been quite right."

Harry stared at her, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh stop it, you'll swallow Cutiefly," Shiela told him.

Harry shook himself.

"That's terrible," he said, eyeing Shiela up carefully. "Did they catch the boy who did it?"

"I don't think anyone ever knew what had happened," denied Shiela, looking quite amused by Harry's reaction. "You don't expect humans to take responsibility for their kids. They never think of the damage they can do."

"I'm so sorry," Harry murmured, shaking his head. "I'm just thinking, what happened to you sounds like exactly the sort of thing Dudley would do." He grimaced. "Is there anything you can do to fix it?"

"Oh, I doubt it," said Shiela breezily. "I've been like this for a while now. But it's alright. You learn to live with it. And it may not be permanent, not if I evolve."

"Evolve?" Harry questioned.

"Grow," Shiela explained, smiling slightly. "Pokémon can change into different forms over time, like Melvin's brother. When that happens your body undergoes a transformation, which, hopefully, could put my injury to rights." Shiela sighed. "But until then I'm just going to go with it."

She looked up at the canopy of the trees.

"Though I do miss my journeys across the sky, the feel of the wind in my feathers, gliding over the spectacular canvas below. Hopefully, one day, I'll live those dreams again."

* * *

A/N: And so we're on our way. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

We've got a few more Pokemon appearing in this chapter. Here they are below:

"...living mushrooms..." - Morelull, Paras

"...fungi..." - Foongus

"...small birds chirping..." - Pidgey, Starly, Pidove

"...large variety of insects..." - Caterpie, Metapod, Weedle, Kakuna, Ledyba, Spinarak, Pineco, Wurmple, Burmy, Sewaddle, Venipede, Blipbug

"A small fox..." - Nickit

"...a much larger Venus flytrap plant..." - Carnivine

"Two leak carrying birds..." - Galarian Farfetch'd

"...an enormous grass covered tortoise..." - Torterra

"...the tiniest of spiders..." - Joltik


	7. Howls In The Night

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

They walked for a long time that day, so long that Harry's legs started to grow numb, shaking slightly with each step as though ready to collapse at any moment. It seemed that at least Shiela had noticed, perhaps because Harry was her ride, and she called a stop to their march as the sky began to darken.

Finding a suitable clearing the four of them began to make camp. Shiela and Rory went for a wander to collect food for the night, leaving Harry and Melvin to get the fire lit, something that they were utterly useless at until Melvin accidentally shocked the wood with a jolt of electricity, which, as well as causing Harry to jump back in alarm, provided the spark that was needed to get the flames burning.

Eventually they all gathered round, eating and getting comfortable as they settled in for the night.

Melvin sniffed. "I thought we would be there by now," he complained. "I don't like sleeping out in the open."

"I'm sorry, Melvin, but we couldn't do the trip in one day," Shiela told him, half comforting, half reprimanding. "And besides, aren't you enjoying this? You wouldn't want it over so quickly."

Melvin muttered something that Harry didn't catch, but judging from the reaction of Rory and Shiela it didn't seem to matter. Instead Harry sat back against a tree, thinking about what lay ahead, and what he'd left behind. The Dursleys would most definitely have noticed him missing by now. Harry could practically see their reactions in his head, Uncle Vernon ranting with spit flying from his mouth, Aunt Petunia with her lips pursed, and Dudley with his eyes glued to the tv. Harry knew he'd be in for it when they found him, but it would all be worth it.

Or would it? A dark shadow cast doubt over his thoughts. Would he be able to find the answers he was looking for? And would knowing even make things any different? For the first time since leaving Privet Drive nervousness about his mission began to creep in. Maybe he had been too impulsive after all.

Suddenly the bushes opposite him rustled. Melvin, sitting with his back to the bushes, yelped and leapt to his feet, scuttling behind Harry for protection. Rory, too, rose to his feet, ready to fight.

"Hello," a small voice called through the leaves. "Is anyone there?" A small, doglike creature, with dark skin and a brown muzzle, metallic bands wrapped over its back and ankles, stepped through the branches. It sniffed the air.

"Who are you?" The creature asked. It had a very young voice, startling Harry as he realised that this must be nothing more than a baby. It pawed the ground uncertainly. "What are you doing?"

"We're travellers," Rory spoke up, not lowering his guard. "We are camping here for the night."

The Pokémon sniffed the air experimentally.

"There's four of you," it noted, stepping forward to the fire and looking past Harry quizzically. "Why are you hiding?" Harry glanced behind him. Melvin looked petrified.

"It's okay, Melvin," Harry assured him, looking back at the Pokémon that was now sitting calmly before the fire. "It's just a baby."

"Even babies are stronger than I am," whispered Melvin. He was absolutely shaking.

"Please play," the dog Pokémon asked and it stood up and walked round the fire, trying to peer behind Harry as Melvin backed away rapidly. "I want to play."

"He wants to eat me," Melvin breathed in hysterics. Rory rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said, rising to his feet and gesturing to the Pokémon. "Go back where you came from."

"But I want to play," the Pokémon moaned. "Please? Please can I play?" It wagged its stubby black tail in the air.

"You should probably get back to your family," Harry said softly. "They'll be worried about you."

The Pokémon turned to Harry suddenly, its ears perking up. Its head tilted to the side.

"You can understand me?" It asked. It was getting excited. "Yay! Now I have to stay. Come on, play with me, please?"

"We said no," Rory said firmly and he pushed the Pokémon away, over the flames and out onto the other side of the campsite. The Pokémon appeared unharmed. "Go back to your family," said Rory. "You're not wanted here."

"No," said the Pokémon petulantly and it gave a loud sneeze in Rory's direction. Burning hot embers erupted from its nose, spraying over Rory who flinched back in pain.

"Wait, don't do that," Harry argued, scrambling to his feet.

"Rory, no!"

But it turned out Shiela's warning was in vein. Rory, looking angrier than Harry had seen him, placed his paws together before his chest and launched what appeared to be a blast of air towards the young Pokémon. It crashed into it head on and the young dog was thrown backwards out of the illumination of the fire's warm glow. It landed with a thud before, scrambling to its feet and with a fearful look at Rory, it sprinted off into the trees.

"Rory, no!" Shiela was very angry. She rounded on the Riolu. "What were you thinking, that was completely uncalled for."

"It attacked me," Rory complained. "I had to defend myself."

"It was just a child," Shiela berated. "It didn't know what it was doing. You should have shown restraint."

Rory grit his teeth.

"I did show restraint," he growled. "If I hadn't that Houndour would have been unconscious."

"Anyway, let's just be glad it's gone," Melvin muttered, appearing from Harry's side once more and looking rather relieved. "Hopefully it won't come back."

Shiela gave a disparagingly snort, turning her head away in disgust, but Melvin didn't notice. He settled down next to the fire and let out a deep, satisfied sigh.

Rory turned to speak to Harry.

"That was a Houndour," he explained. "A fire and dark type." He settled back down next to the fire, idly rubbing at where the embers had struck him. Harry eyed the burn mark worriedly.

"Are you alright?"

"What?" Said Rory, looking surprised. He glanced down at his arm. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he assured him. "It'll take more than that to hurt me." And as if to prove it Rory very deliberately removed his paw from the wound, leaving it defiantly out in the open.

"Houndour are one of those Pokémon you've got to be careful of," Rory said casually, leaning back and gazing up into the night sky. "They are vengeful Pokémon, you see, and they hunt in packs. Even just touching them can leave you with a burn if you're not careful."

"But you can look after yourself," murmured Harry, his eyes not leaving the burn on Rory's arm. "What was that you did? It was one of the Pokémon attacks, right?"

"Vacuum Wave," Rory acknowledged. "It's a quick fighting type move which makes it super effective against dark types. That's why if I'd have used my full force I would have knocked it out." These last words were said just a bit louder, appearing to be aimed at Shiela. Shiela ignored him.

"Well, I'm just glad all this is over," said Melvin wearily. "All I want to do is go to sleep and not be eaten by a pack of hungry Houndoom. Good night."

At that very moment a long howl rent through night. Melvin froze.

"Oh no," he whispered, his eyes growing wide. "Oh no."

"What…?" Harry started but then he saw the looks on Rory and Shiela's faces.

"It seems the cub has made it back to the pack," Shiela said grimly.

Rory clenched his jaw.

"Shit."

More howls joined the first, each seemingly louder than the one before, and it took Harry a moment to realise that the reason was that the source of the howls were moving closer. His blood ran cold.

"Run!" He shouted and as though triggered by a starting gun the three Pokémon and one human burst into motion.

They ran. With Shiela on his shoulder Harry sprinted as fast as he could, dodging protruding roots on the ground as he thundered forward, all the while aware of the howls that followed him. Up ahead Rory was jogging, as though only putting in a half hearted effort getting away, glancing back frequently to where Harry huffed and puffed behind him, while Melvin was gone, haring away as fast as he could without a backwards glance.

A root snagged Harry's foot and he stumbled, scrambling to maintain his momentum, and as he successfully pushed himself onto his feet once more he allowed himself one look back at what was following.

And he saw them. Dark, menacing beasts, nearly as tall as he was, with long, curved horns, sharp, malicious looking teeth, and long, whiplike tails that sliced through the air behind them.

"Harry, come on!" Rory shouted and Harry staggered forward, catching up with the Riolu as he fired a blast of invisible energy behind them, kicking up a cloud of leaves and dirt to shield them from view. "Keep going!"

Harry sprinted on, confident that Rory could more than handle himself, and he followed along after the panicked steps of Melvin up ahead. On his shoulder Shiela encouraged him onwards and Rory pulled up into step beside him.

"There's a river up ahead," Sheila yelled into Harry's ear. "If we get across to the other side the Houndoom won't be able to follow."

"But I can't swim," Harry protested, his eyes widening in horror.

"You have no choice," Rory barked. "It's the only way."

They broke through the trees, the forest seeming to open out before them as they came upon the banks of a river, water rushing thunderously across their path, and Melvin, standing stock still at the water's edge. He turned towards them with terrified eyes.

"Melvin, jump!" Shiela shouted as they rushed forward. Melvin gaped.

"It's too fast, we'll never make it."

"We have no choice," barked Rory and as he reached the water's edge he leaped into the air, his form graceful as an Olympic diver, and he disappeared with a splash beneath the water, reappearing a moment later with a strong, powerful stroke towards the opposite bank.

Harry looked on at the river with trepidation. The water was moving fast and Harry had never had a single swimming lesson in his life. But the howls growing louder behind him, the snapping of twigs under clawed feet, made it clear he had no other choice. Doubling down one final time Harry scooped Melvin into his arms and dove into the water.

Cold enveloped him as Harry struck the waves and almost immediately he found himself being dragged downstream. He tried to kick out, vaguely aware of Shiela hovering above, trying to guide him towards the opposite bank, but the force of the water pulled him further and further away, taking full control as he and a shivering Melvin started to get pulled underwater. Trying desperately to pull himself back to the surface Harry gasped for breath. Sharp claws scraped his back as he felt Shiela grab ahold of his shirt, trying to pull him along herself. But the current was too strong, Harry too heavy, and soon enough the water splashed over Sheila too, dragging her down along with them.

Water began to fill Harry's lungs as he spluttered and gasped, no longer able to tell what was up and what was down. He scrabbled desperately, hoping beyond hope that he would get lucky and find himself on the opposite bank, or that Rory would notice and rush to save him, but it didn't seem to be happening. He was drowning, and the worst of it was that he was bringing Melvin and Shiela down with him. He reached out desperately for something to grab onto.

And his hand caught. On instinct he held on tight, his momentum downstream halting as his arm strained against the current. He reached out his other arm desperately, pulling him free over the water's surface, gasping for breath and immediately coughing up water from his lungs. He could hear Shiela and Melvin both doing the same, each clinging to his shirt for dear life, and as his head finally slowed from its spinning Harry grasped an even firmer hold of the branch he had caught and painstakingly he began to drag himself, and Shiela and Melvin, to the water's edge.

Exhausted, just about ready to pass out, Harry made it to shore, bent double as what was left of the water in his lungs came to the surface, along with what little he'd had to eat that day. Gasping for breath Harry glanced over to see a soaked Melvin curl up into a ball, shivering violently, and Shiela hop wearily along the ground, holding out her sodden wings as she tried to shake herself dry.

Rustling sounded from a nearby bush and Harry's eyes snapped open. He twisted to see, dread beginning to set in once more. He'd thought they were safe, but were they? Had they even made it to the opposite bank? Harry had been so completely disorientated he could have just brought them back to where they started. And if it was the Houndoom… well, he had no energy left to run.

As Harry resigned himself to his fate the rustling grew even louder, before the Pokémon responsible leapt out.

It was Rory.

"Are you alright?" The Riolu asked desperately, pale faced. "I lost you underwater, I was sure you were going to drown. If that branch hadn't fallen when it had…"

But Harry didn't have the energy left to respond. Exhausted, his energy drained, Harry rolled over onto his back and let his eyes droop closed. And before he knew it, he'd drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you thought, I enjoy hearing from you.


	8. The Courage Of Fear

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Harry woke up to the smell of burning. With light streaming across his face he opened his eyes with difficulty, blinking to acclimatise to the morning sun, and he slowly raised his aching body to look around.

There was a campfire next to him, burned down to just a few stubborn embers that refused to die. Harry guessed it must have been burning all night whilst he slept, though he couldn't remember anything after their close escape.

Remembering their close shave Harry glanced around to the others. Melvin was curled up as close to the campfire as possible, no longer looking quite as wet as he had before, and no longer shaking, instead breathing in a rhythm that told Harry he was still asleep, and Shiela stood nearby, her head tucked under her wing.

There was only one Pokémon missing.

"You're awake."

Harry glanced behind him.

Rory was there, standing alongside a small pile of berries that he was adding to at that moment, throwing a yellow one on the pile. Harry's stomach rumble.

It seemed Rory had been taking care of them the whole night, the Riolu recounting his version of events as Harry helped himself to the berries. To Harry the events of the night before had been clear, all the way up until their jump into the river, and Rory was more than happy to fill in the gaps.

"The water just pulled you away," said Rory, helping himself to a berry as Harry scarfed down his own. "I could barely keep track, I thought I'd lost you, you were moving so fast. And then when I couldn't see Shiela I knew you were in trouble. If it hadn't been for that branch… I don't know what would have happened."

Harry had an idea, and it was not something he wanted to think about.

"We should be safe from the Houndoom," said Rory after an awkward moment. "They're fire types so there's no way they could cross the river. We're safe now."

Harry wasn't sure he believed that, not after what had happened. They may not be in danger of attack by Houndoom anymore but the Houndoom hadn't been a problem until they'd run across the baby Houndour. What other dangers were they just an accident away from?

But as Rory said, they were alright for now, and Harry took encouragement from that fact. Their run-in with the Houndoom could have been a disaster but they had made it through. They were still alive.

With Harry beginning to feel his hunger satiated Shiela soon joined the group, hopping over to feast on some Rindo berries Rory had been good enough to collect just for her. Like Harry she seemed a little ruffled by their death defying experience, but also like Harry she seemed content to know they had made it through unscathed.

Unfortunately not all of them shared that attitude.

"Melvin," Shiela called, looking over to where the Shinx lay curled up next to the now dead fire. He hadn't moved all morning, but he was definitely awake. The stiffening of his muscles at Shiela's call gave him away. "Come on, Melvin, have something to eat. You must be starving."

But Melvin wouldn't budge.

Rory sighed.

"He was like this last night," Rory told Harry, watching Melvin with tired eyes. "Completely unresponsive. He was awake most of the night, too. Too scared to fall asleep, I reckon."

Meanwhile Shiela continued to try and coax him out of his shell.

"Please, Melvin, you'll feel so much better once you've had something to eat," she urged. "And then once we're done we can leave here and move on."

But Melvin would not be convinced.

"Just leave him," said Rory, turning away and shaking his head grimly. "He can't stay there forever. He'll come over when he's ready."

Shiela didn't look happy, gazing worriedly at the little black and blue fur-ball, but she understood what Rory was saying, turning back to the berries and continuing her own recovery from the previous night.

Taking a last bite of his own berry, Harry gazed over at Melvin. A heavy weight settled on him at the thought of what the tiny Pokémon was going through. A nervous Pokémon by nature, last night must have pushed him to his limits.

"Harry, what…?"

Harry had risen to his feet, surprising the two Pokémon he was sitting with, and moved over to where Melvin was curled up. He settled softly on the ground next to him.

"Melvin," he murmured. The Shinx tensed at Harry's voice. Harry bowed his head.

"I'm sorry," he said. He bit his lip. "I brought you here. It's because of me that you had to go through what happened. I didn't want you to be hurt like this."

"It's not…" Rory spoke up but he was quickly shushed by Shiela. She was watching Harry with a soft, understanding gaze.

Harry turned back to Melvin.

"I can't make up for bringing you with me," he told him. "I wish I could just take you back home, where you'll be safe, but I can't. I'm not strong like Rory. I should have realised that from the start. I shouldn't have brought you along when I couldn't look after you."

For a moment there was silence as Harry finished. He bowed his head, blinking as he felt tears threaten to break through, and he closed his eyes tight to stop them from falling. Only once sure his emotions were under control did he open them again, and when he did he found himself faced with a pair of wide yellow eyes.

Melvin stared at Harry, his eyes so open that Harry could see his emotions clear as day. The fear, the worry over what could happen out here in the unknown wilderness, and it struck Harry hard knowing it was because of him that the Shinx was hurting.

"Sorry," Harry murmured.

"Not your fault," Melvin answered back. "It's not your fault I'm a coward."

"It is my fault you're here," Harry told him. "It is my fault you were in danger." He paused. "And for what it's worth, I don't think you're a coward."

Melvin blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Harry. "You're here. You came with me, even though you worried. That sounds brave to me."

Melvin stared at him. He looked so utterly dumbfounded by what Harry just said that he couldn't come up with a response other than to stare blankly.

"He's right, you know," said Shiela, fluttering over to land on Harry's shoulder. "You always say your brother is better, but I know I'd much rather be with you." Shiela gave him a warm smile. "Now why don't you have something to eat. I know it'll make you feel better."

And Melvin, finally, uncurled his body and rose to his feet.

* * *

It took awhile for the group to get on their way once more. They were in no rush, savouring the peace of their small little clearing where they at least felt safe. But eventually they had to move on.

For Harry it was hard to tell exactly where they were. The trip down the raging river had been so wild and confusing that he could not tell how far along they'd travelled before finally reaching land. And he couldn't even use the map to check. The water from the river had seeped through it, leaving the pages sodden and the ink runny. And so he was left to rely on the natural sense of direction of Rory, who, out of all of them, had been the only one with at least a vague idea of where they were.

The group walked in silence.

A bush rustled.

"Who's there?" Rory barked, stepping forward immediately, putting Harry, Melvin, and Shiela protectively behind him. "I know you're there. You can't hide."

Harry nearly toppled over as Melvin shot behind him, his brief show of confidence disappearing in a flash. Meanwhile Shiela fluttered off Harry's shoulder and up onto a branch above them, gazing down at the bush with narrowed eyes.

The bush had gone still at Rory's commands. Slowly the Riolu crept forward.

"Don't do anything stupid," Rory warned as he edged closer. "We don't want to cause any trouble. Just show yourself peacefully and no one gets hurt."

Harry held his breath as Rory crept closer still. He was mere feet from the bushes yet still nothing had appeared. Slowly Rory began to pull his paws together, his ears rising as if in an unseen wind, ready to strike.

"Ah!"

A dark figure shot from within the bushes, so fast that Rory wasn't able to respond, being knocked back off his feet, kicking out to try and repel his attacker. He rolled quickly, turning in a crouch, and this time he was ready to send a blast towards his assailant, who twisted agilely away, leaving the attack to explode against a tree behind it. A long, thick tail swiped out, wrapping itself firmly around Rory's form, pinning Rory's arms to his side tight. Rory struggled, but as a serpentine head rose above him with a menacing glare he froze in place.

"Rory!" Harry gasped, shocked to see the Riolu so easily incapacitated, and he stepped forward instinctively to help.

"Stay back!" The assailant hissed, sharp fangs bared menacingly in Harry's direction. Harry froze. "Don't come any closer."

Harry swallowed. He took a shuddering breath.

"Please, we don't mean any trouble," he promised, bringing his hands together in a pleading gesture, while making sure not to step any closer. "Please, just let our friend go."

The snake watched Harry with narrowed eyes, and Harry could just imagine it sizing him up for a snack. Then confusion crossed its gaze. Its forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air, and, ever so slightly, its grip on Rory loosened.

"Do I know you?" The snake asked. Harry blinked back.

"I…" Harry stammered. "I-I don't think so." But as Harry spoke the snake's eyes widened.

"So it is you," it whispered, its coils almost completely unravelling around Rory, leaving the Riolu frozen in place as it moved towards Harry, raising its head so they stood face to face. The snake's eyes flickered between each of Harry's. "The boy who rescued me."

Everyone was staring at Harry now, but Harry barely noticed. His whole attention was on the snake. He swallowed.

"R-Rescued you?" He echoed, stunned. Then a thought came to him. "Are you… can you be…" He shivered. "…the Boa Constrictor?"

The snake twisted its head and frowned.

"No one has ever called me that before," it said softly. "I am an Arbok, a poison type Pokémon. You may call me Selena."

"Hello, Selena," Harry said slowly. "I think… I think I remember you. I just… would you mind… telling me, how we met?"

Selena looked at him quizzically, tilting her head to one side, but nevertheless she answered his question.

"I lived in a Pokémon exhibit not far from here," she began, her words captivating as everyone around listened to her story. "It was… a testing life. Stuck behind glass, watching as human after human walked by, stopping and staring, tapping on the window just to get me to amuse them. I despised it, but then it was all I'd ever known. Even so I longed to be free."

"And that's where you come in," she continued, gazing down at Harry. "You came to visit the exhibit, with your relatives and that pitiful oaf. You spoke to me, and I humoured you and spoke back. And to my amazement you understood. You asked about my life, understood my plight, and when the other came rushing over and pushed you to the ground it was you that removed the glass of my display, as if by magic."

"So that still happened," Harry breathed. Selena nodded her serpentine head.

"You rescued me," she murmured. "Thanks to your help I was able to escape, be free like I'd always dreamed." She stared deep into Harry's eyes. "I owe you a debt of gratitude."

Harry ducked his head.

"Eh, don't mention it," he said awkwardly. Selena looked amused.

"Well, perhaps I can work to settle my debt," she suggested simply. "I had not thought I would ever encounter you again, especially not so soon. What can I do for you?"

"Eh," said Harry, glancing at her awkwardly. He looked at Rory. "Um, can you tell me what you did to my friend?" Rory was still rooted to the spot, having not moved a muscle since he'd been attacked.

Selena looked surprised.

"Oh, of course," she said, slithering away to face Rory. "He is paralysed. My apologies, I have not quite settled to my new life. I am still on edge lest the Pokémon keeper finds me."

"Paralysed?" Harry repeated with a gasp.

"He'll be alright," Shiela assured him comfortingly. "The paralysis will start to wear off after a while."

"Oh." That wasn't how Harry thought paralysis worked. But Shiela would know better.

"You should give him a cheri berry," Selena instructed. "That will fix him." She slithered back over to Harry. "In the meantime, why don't you tell me your story?"

"Well," said Harry awkwardly. "I'm not sure what there is to tell."

"Why don't you start with your name," Selena suggested. "What should I call you?"

"Harry."

"Well, Harry," Selena raised her head slightly from her coiled form. "Perhaps you could tell me about your perspective on our meeting. You did not seem to recognise me."

"Well, I didn't," Harry told her. "From my memories you were a completely different creature. A Boa Constrictor."

"A Boa Constrictor?" Selena repeated.

"A type of snake from Brazil," Harry clarified.

"But I have never been to Brazil," Selena told him.

"Yeah, you hadn't then either." Selena tilted her head in confusion. "The sign said you were bred in the zoo… eh, exhibit, I suppose is how you remember it."

Selena nodded. "And then what happened?"

"Well, it was like you said," said Harry. "We talked. And then Dudley came and knocked me over and the glass disappeared and you were able to escape. I don't know how it happened but the Dursleys blamed me…"

"It was you," Selena said firmly. "You saved me."

Harry swallowed.

"They locked me in my cupboard for that," he told her. "But then that night I had a weird dream, and I woke up into a world where there were Pokémon everywhere, not animals like I was used to."

"You are saying you had never seen a Pokémon before?" Selena questioned curiously. Then her eyes widened. "That _I_ was not a Pokémon?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes," he said. "Everything changed and I don't know why." He glanced around at the others; Rory beginning to move once more, Shiela perched on his shoulder with a berry in her mouth, and Melvin still hiding behind Harry's ankles.

"That's what we're doing here," Harry continued. "Shiela knows of a place where a deity lives. We were thinking maybe we could get answers there, at least I hope so."

"A worthy goal," Selena agreed. She pulled herself up to her full height. "Then allow me to accompany you."

Harry blinked.

"You mean it?" He asked, taken aback. Selena nodded.

"I owe you a great debt," she told him. "And on your quest you will need all the help you can get. There are dangers out here that you are not prepared to face. Just recently I avoided confrontation with a pack of Houndoom."

"We saw them too," squeaked Melvin, looking pale and shaking slightly. "We only just got away." He shuddered. "They're not… following us, do you think?"

"Perhaps," said Selena, not causing any comfort as Melvin let out a terrified squeak. "But I shall protect you, with my life if need be. I will get you to your goal, and hopefully to the answers you seek."

And so, with no room given for discussion, their small group became just a little bit larger, and Harry could not deny he was grateful. After the run in with the Houndoom, having more support could only help.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading. Please leave a Review if you enjoyed and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	9. Rockfall

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

Travelling with Selena was much safer than it had been before. Or at least, that's what Melvin thought. Once certain that Selena was not going to eat him alive he warmed to her significantly, following her almost step for slithered step as they continued their journey, finding comfort in the safety she provided.

Sheila seemed to warm to the new recruit herself. At that moment she was perched on Selena's hood, talking cheerfully with the poison type, who was showing a surprising amount of enthusiasm in return.

Only Rory seemed to have misgivings. He stood at the rear of the group, following Selena's progress with narrowed eyes as he munched on his Cheri berries. He hadn't said a word since their encounter with the poison type Pokémon, clearly smarting from the beating he'd received from her, and while he was almost back to normal it didn't seem as though he was planning on breaking his silence any time soon.

Harry allowed himself to fall into step beside him. They walked together in silence.

"Can I help you?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't thought Rory had noticed him.

"What do you mean?"

"You came here to talk, right." Rory rolled his eyes before refocusing his gaze forward. "Don't think I don't recognise what you're doing."

"Sorry," said Harry. "I didn't mean for it to come across so sinister."

Rory didn't say anything in response. Then he let out a short, amused breath.

"Don't worry, I've never mistaken anything about you for sinister," he told him, a small smirk curling his lips. "You may be more harmless than Melvin, and that's saying something." Harry ducked his head. "So out with it," Rory pressed. "What's the deal?"

Harry hesitated.

"I was just worried about you," he admitted. "You've been so quiet since we met Selena, and you haven't stopped glaring at her."

"Someone needs to keep an eye on her," Rory countered. "The rest of you have let your guard down."

"Of course we have," Harry countered. "Selena isn't going to hurt us. She's helping."

"Says you," snarked Rory.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Because I know her."

"You know a version of her," Rory argued. "And even then you didn't _truly_ know her." He shook his head. "Who knows what she'll do if we give her the chance."

"Like help us," Harry challenged. Rory didn't say anything.

Harry sighed.

"I think you're being unfair," he said eventually. "I think you're blinded by your own bad experiences."

Rory gaped at him.

"What?"

"You have trust issues," Harry told him. "Shiela told me about what happened to your parents, how they were taken away from you."

"Yes, I heard that as well," said Rory, gritting his teeth. "But that's just the way it is. That's the way the world works, especially if you're a Riolu."

"It doesn't have to be like that," Harry told him. He paused. "Not everyone is like the people who took your parents."

Rory didn't respond to Harry's words. He acted as though he hadn't even heard them. He kept on walking without a word, but it only proved to show Harry that he'd hit the nail on the head.

Several minutes passed in silence. Harry waited for Rory to speak.

"Look," Rory said eventually, his voice surprisingly harsh. "You're new to this world, right. You don't understand it."

"I think I understand enough," Harry countered. "Not that much has changed. People are still the same. They can be horrible, like the person who imprisoned Selena, or the kids who threw rocks at Shiela, or the people who took your parents." Rory stiffened. "But there are good people too."

"And I have yet to meet one," Rory spat.

"What about me?" Harry wondered. For a moment it looked as though Rory was going to lash out, his face twisting in a snarl. But then he fell silent. He rubbed his face, and let out a tired sigh.

"Look, I understand what you're trying to say," he told him. "You and Shiela both." He took a deep breath.

"You are good," said Rory. "That's why I'm helping you, but you are the exception."

"I am?" Harry wondered. Rory nodded.

"And do you know how I know?" He asked. "I have lived my entire life being hunted by people who do not care for me, not for my needs or wants, but purely for my value as a rare Pokémon. I've been alone, since I've been old enough to remember, and thanks to the people searching for me that will never change."

Rory clamped his mouth shut at this point, as though holding back as his emotions threatened to spiral out of control. Instead he swallowed his words and turned his gaze forward once more, though his eyes were unseeing. As Harry looked at him he recognised the closed off expression, the look that said Rory was waiting for a blow, waiting for punishment for daring to speak, and for the first time since they'd met Harry found that he could understand. A heavy weight settled in his stomach.

Harry didn't say anything, choosing to continue walking in silence, watching out of the corner of his eye as Rory's shoulders started to loosen.

"I'm sorry about your parents," he said. He felt Rory stiffen but he kept his gaze fixed forward. "I know how it feels. My parents were taken away from me too. I don't even remember what they looked like." Harry paused. A lump seemed to have formed in his throat.

"It's nice to know I'm not alone anymore."

He looked over to Rory, only to find the Riolu watching him with oddly expressive eyes. There was no need for Rory to say anything, Harry could tell just from the vulnerability in his gaze, the brief moment that Rory let his guard down, that the two of them had an understanding that didn't need to be put in to words.

A soft rumble sounded in the distance. Harry blinked.

"What was that?"

The rumbling hadn't stopped. In fact it appeared to grow louder, the very earth beneath their feet beginning to quiver, and Harry looked around wildly to try and find who or what was causing it.

"What's happening?"

"We've got to move," said Rory, his voice sharp, and he grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him forward to where Shiela, Melvin and Selena had come to a halt.

"Rory, Harry," Shiela gasped, relief in her voice. "Thank god, I lost you for a moment."

"What's happening?" Melvin squealed in distress, looking up at the two for answers. "Are we going to die?"

"We're not dying," Rory snapped in annoyance. "But we do need to get out of here."

"The disturbance is coming from up the hill," Selena informed them, her tongue flicking out as she gazed upwards through the sparsely populated trees. "I see movement."

A sudden blow struck the ground and Harry staggered as the earth moved beneath his feet. Beside him Melvin jumped into the air, his sharp claws catching onto Harry's leg, and Selena gave out a hiss of pain. The trees around them creaked.

"I'll go see what is happening," said Shiela quickly and she fluttered into the air. "You lot should find somewhere to take cover."

"Where?"

A loud creaking sounded before anyone could answer and out of nowhere one of the tall trees surrounding them began to fall. It descended with a large crack before striking the ground with a rumble, kicking up dust and dirt and forcing Harry to cover his face.

Things were rapidly getting worse. As Harry whipped around he found sand blasting towards them, blowing branches out of its way and nearly knocking Harry off his feet as he staggered under the violent wind. He'd lost sight of Shiela, the Pidgey blending in with the brown sand that was now spraying everywhere, threatening to get into Harry's eyes, ears and mouth. He spluttered, falling to his hands and knees.

"Let's move!" Rory's voice shouted through the sudden storm and Harry felt a hand grab him and pull him to his feet. Staggering blindly, Harry held out an arm to shield his face against the wind, trying to press forward while having no idea what was around him. His companions, all but the terrified Melvin still clinging to his leg, had all disappeared, though they could have been right next to him for all Harry knew, the storm so thick.

Trying to make out any shape in the storm Harry felt a sudden, sharp pain strike through the back of his head. Harry was only briefly able to acknowledge that he'd been hit before his vision began to fade. As darkness swept his gaze he felt himself hit the ground, hard, and then everything went black.

* * *

"Look what you've done." A hissed voice sounded nearby. "This is your fault."

That sounded familiar.

"I apologise," a deeper, regretful voice answered. "I had not intended this to happen."

"Of course not, you don't think…"

"Let's not argue," a third voice piped in. "It won't help."

Silence fell and Harry started to get a feeling for where he was. He was lying down somewhere, short grass pressed against his back and tickling his fingertips, and he felt an incline that shifted him slightly upright. His eyes felt very heavy.

"Will he be alright?" a small voice murmured. Harry tried to place it.

"Of course, Melvin," a slightly sharp, annoyed voice answered him. "He was only knocked out."

Melvin.

And then it rushed back to him. He remembered the storm, their attempts to flee from it and how he'd managed to lose the rest of the group. Then something had hit him.

Harry tried to sit up and immediately his body protested, his mouth giving out an involuntary moan. Movement shuffled around him.

"Harry?" It was Shiela's voice, Harry was beginning to recognise it now. "Harry, please relax. Take it easy, and try and open your eyes."

Harry did as he was asked, his eyes slowly prying open, feeling as though they'd been welded shut, and as soon as they began to crack light shone through, causing Harry to flinch.

A shadow passed over him and gratefully Harry was able to open his eyes properly this time, his vision fuzzy as he looked to see the Pokémon sat around him.

"You're alive?" Melvin gasped, his voice crossed between thankful and amazed.

Beside him Rory rolled his eyes. "That isn't a surprise, Melvin."

Shiela ignored them.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, hopping up onto his knee as Harry slowly began to rise.

"Sore," Harry admitted. Selena's long tail curled behind him, the end propping him up in a slightly reclined pose. He gingerly rubbed the back of his head. "What happened?"

No one answered. Instead they turned their attention to something above him.

Harry looked up.

"Oh."

A gigantic Pokémon loomed over him, its enormous form blocking out the sun that had been blinding him a moment earlier. A spiky green body, a sharp face obscured by the light of the sun behind it, and two huge clawed feet planted firmly in the ground beside him.

The terrifying beast gazed down at him.

"Are you alright?"

Its voice was soft. Harry did a double take.

"I'm fine," he said, almost on instinct. "Eh, thanks for asking."

The monster looked relieved.

"I'm sorry for your pain," it said mournfully. "I was battling an Aggron acquaintance of mine; Edgar does get grouchy sometimes. I failed to consider the damage I caused."

"Save us the sob story," Selena hissed. "We don't care for your apologies, you should've been more careful." Selena drew herself up next to Harry, shielding him from the gigantic beast.

The mysterious Pokémon, for his part, bowed his head.

"You are right," he murmured. "I have been negligent." The Pokémon let out a heavy sigh.

Harry hesitated.

"Hey," he said, feeling somewhat tentative as the enormous Pokémon's eyes turned to him. "Eh, it's okay you know. I'm fine." Selena glanced sideways at Harry, her eyes narrowed. "So long as you know better next time."

"I will," the large Pokémon promised. "I will be better, in the future." He nodded down at Harry. "You are as noble as you are miraculous. A human who can speak with Pokémon? Tell me child, what is your name?"

"Harry."

"Well, Harry," the Pokémon bowed his head. "I am honoured to meet you. My name is Robert. Robert the Tyranitar. However, you may call me Bob."

"Eh, Hi... Bob." Harry pulled himself up so he was able to face him, pushing himself to his feet only then to realise just how tall the Pokémon was. Harry barely reached his belly. "It's, eh, nice to meet you. And thanks for shielding me from the sun back there."

A smile spread over Bob's face.

"It's my pleasure."

Harry turned to the others.

"Are you all okay?"

Rory snorted.

"Of course we are," he said, his voice a mixture of humour and derision. "We're Pokémon remember. We're not so frail as you humans."

"What he means to say is that we're all just fine," Shiela translated. She fluttered up onto his shoulder. "And we're delighted to see you are too." She nibbled his ear affectionately.

"I'm glad you're not dead," Melvin offered sincerely. Rory coughed in amusement.

"Eh, yeah," said Harry, not really sure how to respond. "I'm okay." He hesitated. "So, uh, what now? Where do we go from here? Where are we?"

"We haven't moved," Selena hissed. She was still glaring at Bob. It seemed she wasn't so ready to forgive as Harry was. "We didn't think it would be a good idea to move you before you were awake."

"And as for where we are going," Shiela chirped, "we're almost there. If I remember correctly it's just on the other side of this hill."

"Where is it you are heading?" Bob asked, stooping slightly to join the conversation. Selena hissed angrily. Bob paused. "I know the area," he said, turning to Harry. "Perhaps I can be of service."

Harry considered him.

"Of course," he gasped. "If it is nearby you must have heard about it." His heart began to race. "Bob, have you heard of a legendary Pokémon living nearby?"

Bob did not answer immediately. Instead his head rocked back as he took in Harry's words. He let out a long sigh.

"Ok," he said softly, after a long moment's contemplation. "I will tell you. But you must remember I do so only because I trust you, Harry. Those with bad intentions would be unwise to disturb the dwelling of a power so mystical."

Harry shivered.

"Are you telling me it's dangerous?" Harry wondered.

"Not so long as you are pure of heart," Bob told him. "But if you seek the power inside for personal greed or harm you will find nothing but suffering inside. So if your quest is one unworthy, I advise you to turn around now."

"Quiet," Selena snapped. She reared up menacingly, facing off against the much larger Pokémon with narrowed eyes. "Do not dare speak this way."

"He must know the risks," Bob said mournfully, not looking the least bit intimidated by Selena's aggression. "For if he is not worthy it will be his own wellbeing at stake. I say this as a courtesy, and to make up for my previous errors."

"But Harry will be alright, won't he?" Melvin muttered anxiously, gazing up at Bob with a quivering gaze. "He's good. He'll be alright."

Bob's gaze softened.

"If he is as good as you say," he affirmed. He turned his eyes to Harry. "From what I have seen you should have no worries, but I'd be a fool not to warn you of the consequences."

Harry met Bob's gaze and a twisting feeling began to wrap around his stomach. Was his cause worthy? He didn't mean anything bad by it but who was he to question a deity? Was it foolish to think his search for answers was worth a legendary Pokémon's time?

"Come on, Harry," Rory's voice cut in. Harry turned. Rory had a hard look on his face. "Don't listen to this guy. If we get going now we should reach the cavern by sunset."

"But…" Harry stammered. "But what if I'm not worthy?"

"You are, Harry," Shiela whispered softly. "You are good. You have nothing to fear from the legendary Pokémon's judgement." She stared him in the eye, not blinking. Harry fell silent.

"For what it's worth," Bob rumbled. "I would trust your friends. They know you better than I. And if you wish to go on then I will be glad to lead the way." He shifted aside, allowing Harry for the first time to look past his gigantic form.

Down the bottom of the hill stood a steep cavern. The cavern of the deity.

Harry swallowed. He made up his mind.

"Let's go."

* * *

**A/N:** And that's it for this chapter. Next up our heroes reach the cavern.

Please remember to leave a review and follow me on twitter for updates and I'll see you in the next chapter.


	10. The Cavern

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

A heavy silence fell over the group as they made their way down the side of the hill, their goal, the cavern, in sight all the way. Bob's warning had not fallen on deaf ears and for the first time doubts about the very nature of their quest were settling in.

Harry thought back on everything it had taken to get this far, on all the things that had given them cause to worry. The journey had been a nervy one since the moment the Houndoom attacked the first night they made camp, and in the back of Harry's mind he'd always fretted that he wouldn't get the answers he needed once he reached the cavern, but never had he stopped to consider that the most dangerous part of their journey might be what was waiting for them at the end.

"Well, here it is."

They'd made it to the cavern. Towering walls of stone rose up to face them, too steep to scale, darkened as the sun set over the horizon behind, while in the centre of the stone face a small crack beckoned them in.

"Inside you will find what you seek," Bob said softly. "Be careful. It does not do to disturb a deity's resting place." Selena let out a silent hiss in response, as though daring anyone to try and stop them.

Bob ignored her.

"This is your final chance to back out," Bob said, turning to the others, his eyes falling on Harry. "Are you sure you wish to proceed?"

Harry swallowed. Then he nodded.

"As you wish," said Bob and he straightened up, facing the cavern.

A loud howl rent the darkening sky.

"What was that?" Melvin stammered, his voice little more than a squeak, his expression indicating that he knew very well what it was that had made that noise. Harry, too, had come to the same conclusion. The hairs on his arms stood on end. His heart beat loudly in his chest.

The Houndoom had found them.

"They're here," Rory gasped, a scowl crossing his face as he turned on the spot, glaring angrily into the darkness. "I can feel them."

"Show me," Selena demanded. She bared her fangs. "Show me where those hounds dwell, I will slay them where they stand."

And so they did. Hellhounds appearing in the gloom, with dark skin that seemed to burn with an inner fire in the darkness, long horns curved wickedly from their heads, teeth bared, sharp claws gripping into the earth beneath them, long tails swaying tantalisingly in the air.

"There's so many of them," Harry breathed, taking a step back as his eyes widened. At least a dozen beasts followed his steps. "We're trapped."

"Not quite," Bob rumbled. He bent into a crouch, his usually calm expression furrowed in a dark stare. "I dare not break the sanctity of the deity's rest, but I will protect it, and with honour I shall." Bob looked down at Harry. "I will stay and fight. You go on. Find what you seek."

"But…" Harry stuttered.

"I will be fine," Bob assured him. "I have the strength of many a Tyranitar before me. I can handle these intruders."

"And he won't be alone," Selena hissed, raising herself up proudly so she could glare down on the crouched Houndoom. "I will stand by his side."

"And me."

Harry looked down, shocked.

"Melvin?"

Melvin the Shinx was standing defiantly between Selena and Bob, a brave look on his face even while his whole body shook with terror. He swallowed, but did not back down.

"You told me I was brave, Harry," Melvin said firmly, staring determinedly straight ahead. "Now it's time I prove it. I want you to learn the truth of who you are, Harry. And I'll do what I can to help."

Harry's mouth fell open in amazement. Alongside him Rory stood equally dumbstruck.

"Melvin," Rory muttered.

"You go, Melvin," Shiela called encouragingly, perched on Harry's shoulder. "You can do it." Melvin nodded.

"I will stay here," he said firmly. "I will fight. I will protect you." He turned back to the Houndoom, head held high.

By his side Bob's gaze fell on the diminutive Pokémon, a soft look on his face.

"Not here you won't," he murmured, his voice a low rumble. Melvin blinked up at him.

"But…"

"You will fight, yes," Bob told him. "But not here. You are needed elsewhere." He turned his head to nod at Harry. "Look after the boy, little one, for he is the one who needs you most. Stay by his side and protect him from there."

Beside Melvin Selena coiled her body reflexively, eyes glaring into the darkness, but her words did not hold the same venom.

"Look after Harry for me," she instructed, not looking but not needing to for Melvin to know she was speaking to him. "Protect him with all you have. I will deal with these cretins."

Melvin looked up at both Bob and Selena, the two Pokémon facing the Houndoom with unflinching resolve, then he looked back to Harry. His face firmed with determination and he turned back to Bob with a nod.

Bob inclined his head in response.

"Go through the cavern and do not look back," he instructed, and as he did Harry noticed the Houndoom creeping ever closer. "Follow the path for it will guide you where you need to go."

"Okay," said Harry, feeling slightly sick. He looked at the cavern entrance, mere feet from where they stood, before glancing back one last time to Selena and Bob. "Thank you. For everything."

Bob caught his eye, gave him a small nod, and turned his back, facing out against the Houndoom. That was it. There was nothing left to say. Harry allowed himself one last moment to see his newest companions, knowing it may be the last, before he turned away and stepped through the crack into the cavern.

* * *

The cavern was oppressively quiet. Stone walls rose up high on either side of them, with barely enough space for them to walk through one at a time, and the little light remaining of the setting sun had no way of reaching them down here.

And as they stepped forward, following the twisted path set out before them, the sounds of battle raged behind them.

"Melvin, take the rear," Rory muttered, as though speaking at a normal volume was somehow not allowed in this mystical realm. "I'll watch the front. Shiela, keep an eye out. We need to be ready for anything."

The Pokémon nodded silently at Rory's instruction, and together they carried on, Rory leading the way, Harry in the middle with Shiela on his shoulder, with Melvin bringing up the rear.

Deeper and deeper they ventured into the cavern and the further they stepped the more the noises of battle faded behind them. Harry hoped Bob and Selena were alright. No doubt they were powerful Pokémon, but they were horribly outnumbered, and by such terrifying beasts. It was a comfort, at least, that so far the Houndoom had not caught up with them. Surely Bob and Selena must be doing fine.

Rory came to a sudden halt. Harry fell still behind him. The Riolu was standing very still.

"I sense something," he murmured, practically quivering on the spot. He took a deep breath, his eyes falling closed, and his ears rose in the air. Then his eyes snapped open.

"Get down!" Rory shouted and automatically Harry threw himself to the ground, Shiela taking flight off his shoulder, as a huge blast of fire burned through where Harry had just been standing.

Breath shaky, his heart hammering in his chest, Harry looked up.

A shadowed figure stood on a cliff edge above them, its dark body blending seamlessly into the rock behind it, almost unnoticeable, but for the red eyes burning through the gloom. Sharp fangs glinted menacingly as the Houndoom's eyes fell on Harry.

"Get back!" Shiela shrieked, launching herself forward, flapping her wings furiously to blow a gust of wind at the attacker, only for the beast to shrug off the attack with ease, snapping at Shiela with fire coated fangs.

"Harry, get behind me!" Melvin shouted, his voice quavering as he hurried to stand before him. "Shock Wave!"

A beam of electricity shot out of his minuscule body, sparking up the cliff face, but a blast of fire met it halfway, the two attacks colliding and whirring in a typhoon of fire and electricity.

"Got you!" Cried Rory and a blast flew towards Houndoom's perch, colliding with the hellhound and knocking it off balance. Sensing an opportunity Melvin redoubled his efforts, forcing the ball of fire and electricity towards where Houndoom stood, but just as it looked ready to strike the fire Pokémon jumped down from its perch, its claws digging into the walls to break its fall as it landed in the tunnel before them, snarling. Fire burned in its mouth.

"Oh no you don't!" Cried Rory and as if from nowhere he appeared, crashing into the Houndoom and knocking it off balance.

"Take this!" Added Shiela and she flew down, kicking up dust from the ground into the Houndoom's face.

Houndoom howled in frustration, shaking its head furiously as its vision was obscured. With one violently snap Houndoom cleared its gaze, raising its narrowed eyes towards them. It howled.

A blast from Rory flew down on Houndoom as he jumped down from the cavern wall but Houndoom was ready, leaping back in a single stride. And as Rory landed between Harry and his attacker the Houndoom lunged forward, fire in its mouth.

"Rory!" Harry cried, eyes wide with shock as Houndoom's jaws clenched onto the arm Rory had flung up to defend himself, flames burning wickedly as Rory flinched in pain, falling down to one knee, struggling to hold the Pokémon back.

Then Rory started to glow. A red light formed around his body and he pulled back his arm, dragging Houndoom's jaws with it, and swung with the other to deliver a ferocious blow to the Houndoom's exposed chest. Houndoom was blown back, losing its grip on Rory as it was sent flying into the cavern walls to land in a heap on the ground.

"Say hello to my Counter," Rory spat, shaking his arms loose, ignoring the serious burns from where Houndoom had caught him as he stared down his opponent. Slowly Houndoom began to pull itself gingerly to its feet. "Now time to finish this." A powerful energy began to glow in his paws.

Houndoom was still trying to rise to its feet. It looked exhausted, scratches littering its body visible even in the poor light, and as it struggled it became clear that it couldn't continue the fight. Pride alone forced it to its feet, but that was all as the Houndoom could only turn to face Rory's attack.

"Rory, wait," Harry said quickly. Rory paused.

"Harry?"

"Don't attack," Harry told him. "It's over, we don't need to fight." And Harry stepped forward, past where Rory stood protectively before him, approaching the Houndoom.

"Harry," Rory hissed, eyes wide as he watched Harry go, but Harry didn't stop. The Riolu looked round wildly, turning to Shiela and Melvin for support, but none came. And with Harry now standing between him and his target he had no choice but to end his attack.

As Harry drew closer Houndoom watched with suspicious, narrowed eyes. It was panting heavily, slouched as it no longer had the energy to stand up straight, and Harry lowered himself to his knees, boy and Pokémon face to face.

"Hey," Harry said softly, and Houndoom's eyes flashed in anger. "There's no need to fight." The Pokémon let out a low rumble, baring its fangs at Harry. Behind him he could feel Rory shifting.

Harry took a breath. "Please, there's got to be a better way of sorting this out." He reached out a hand, only for Houndoom to snap at it, dangerous fangs inches from digging into Harry's flesh.

"Stay away, human," the Houndoom spat. "You won't trick me. I know your games. I know what you did."

Harry blinked.

"What did I do?" He asked, his voice sincere. "I'm sorry, whatever it was I never meant any harm."

The Houndoom's eyes widened. It backed away on instinct, bumping against the wall behind it, before it regained its composure once more, looking at Harry with a curious, yet cautious gaze.

"You…" Houndoom's eyes narrowed. "You understand me?"

Harry nodded.

"Yes, I can understand Pokémon," Harry told Houndoom. "I don't know why but I do." He hesitated. "Maybe, since I can understand you, we can talk about this instead. My name's Harry."

"I don't care," Houndoom snarled with renewed anger. "I don't care who you are or what you can do. I will not forgive. You hurt my son."

"Your son," Harry repeated, surprised. The pieces suddenly clicked into place. His eyes widened. "The Houndour."

"Yes," said Houndoom, its tail flicking in agitation. "Once you hurt my boy you brought upon yourself the vengeance of the pack. And we will not rest until you have suffered for your actions."

"Hey, he attacked us," Melvin complained.

"Silence!" Houndoom shrieked. Embers spat from its mouth, landing on the ground between them. "I don't care for your excuses…"

"But it's true," Harry defended quickly. "Please, this is all just a big misunderstanding."

Houndoom snorted angrily. "Say that again," it snarled.

"It's true," Shiela piped in, fluttering forward to land on Harry's shoulder, digging in her talons in support. "Houndour - your son - sneezed, and nearly hurt Rory."

"So you attacked him?" Houndoom snarled.

"Only in self defence," Harry said quickly. "He didn't mean to hurt Houndour…"

"Do you think I care," Houndoom spat. "Do you think your excuses make things alright? Do you truly believe your friend is innocent."

Harry bit his lip.

"No," he said eventually. "You're right. Rory was wrong."

Silence hung in the air.

Behind him Rory spluttered.

"Excuse me," he complained. "Whose side are you on?"

"You were wrong, Rory," Harry said, turning to face him. "And you know that too. You shouldn't have lashed out like you did."

All eyes were on the Riolu now. He looked dumbfounded that Harry seemed to have turned on him like that, looking at him as though asking if he was serious, but Harry merely held his gaze.

Eventually Rory ducked his head.

"Fine," he bit out. "I'm sorry, I made a mistake. I didn't want to hurt the Houndour I just wanted him to leave us alone."

"But you are sorry," Harry pressed.

"I just said that, didn't I," Rory bit out. Harry just gave him a look, gesturing with his eyes towards where Houndoom stood. Rory got the picture. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said, his words genuine this time. "I didn't mean to hurt your son. I made a mistake and… I was wrong. I shouldn't have done it. I apologise."

Harry turned to watch Houndoom. It was examining Rory closely, eyes distrusting but no longer holding the same vicious anger as before. Slowly it straightened up, stretching its limbs so as the rubble that had fallen around it rolled away, and it turned its attention to Harry.

"I…" the Houndoom hesitated. "I… I don't…" It let out a heavy, tired sigh, and bowed its head. It turned to Rory. "I accept your apology."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Houndoom?"

The Houndoom caught Harry's gaze. "My name," the Pokémon announced slowly, "is Helena."

"Helena," Harry repeated. "So, everything's alright? We don't need to fight anymore?"

Helena nodded.

"I may still be protective of my pack," she said. "But I am not so blind as to fight to the bitter end when there are other ways." Her eyes became sharp. "You will pose no further danger to my child."

"We won't," Harry assured her. "We promise. We never meant any harm."

Helena nodded.

"Then I will go find the rest of my pack and be gone," she told them. "I take it your friends are fighting them."

"Yes," said Harry, then his eyes widened. "Bob, Selena. Do you think…?"

"I'll go find them," Shiela assured him. She fluttered from his shoulder to land on one of Helena's horns. "Besides, you'll need me to persuade Selena it's not a trick."

Helena considered the Pidgey briefly, before turning back to Harry.

"Farewell," she said, and without another word she broke into a run, sweeping past where Harry, Rory and Melvin stood to disappear down the path leading back out of the cavern.

* * *

**A/N:** And that's it for this chapter. Sorry it was a little late. I hope you enjoyed and if so please remember to leave a Review.

Next chapter, Harry finally faces the deity he's been searching for.


	11. Deity Discovered

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

For a moment they stood in silence, staring down the path where Helena and Shiela had disappeared, before Harry looked over his shoulder. The path ahead stretched on. Nothing stood in their way.

Harry took a deep breath.

"Okay," he said, feeling his voice shake. "I suppose this is it." He swallowed. "Here we go."

Silently the three of them stepped forward. The darkness of the cavern wasn't as oppressive now their eyes had grown more accustom to the gloom, but even so Harry noticed it appeared to be getting lighter. The moon was shining silverly light down into the cavern, giving it an almost ethereal glow, and Harry found himself becoming suffocated by the stillness around him. The further he stepped down the path the tighter the tension filled the air, the anticipation rising, knowing at any moment their long journey could finally reach its end. And then…

The passage opened up. Moonlight beamed down unobstructed into the cavern as they stepped into a clearing that seemed to tingle with a mystical spirit. All around everything was still and silent, but for a faint whispering too quiet to understand. Harry wanted to say something to Rory or Melvin, to ask if they knew what was going on any more than he did, but somehow it seemed wrong to break the silence.

A light tinkling echoed in the clearing. Up above, in the beam of moonlight, a being began to form from glistening stars, slowly solidifying as it descended. It sank steadily, lowering before them as the bright light surrounding slowly began to dim.

A shining white being, with what looked like a cape flowing over its head and down its back, floated steadily before them, gazing with curious, innocent eyes. It blinked, then raised a little hand to its mouth. It giggled.

"Wha…?" Harry breathed, finally able to get the words from his mouth. "Who are you?"

The being smiled.

"I am Jirachi," the creature said, though its voice seemed to echo inside Harry's head, a childish laughter filling his ears.

"I… I'm Harry."

Jirachi giggled again.

"I know," it said, and it swished through the air in a sweeping figure of eight pattern before turning to face him once more. "I know all about you, Harry."

"How?" Harry murmured. He frowned. "Have I… have I met you before?"

Jirachi smiled.

"I know why you came here," Jirachi told him, instead of answering. "I know what you want."

"I want to know what's going on," Harry told it. "I want to know where Pokémon came from and why I haven't seen them before. If you can tell me…"

"Of course," said Jirachi cheerfully. "It was me, after all."

"You?"

Jirachi giggled again.

"Yes, don't you remember," it wondered, tilting its head playfully to the side. "We spoke. That night in your cupboard, after the incident at the zoo." And Harry did remember.

"The dream," he breathed.

Jirachi nodded.

"You asked to be taken away," it said. "To wake up in a better world. And so I did. Do you not like it?" Jirachi's head drooped in disappointment.

"No," said Harry hurriedly. "No, I mean, I do. I love Pokémon, they're amazing. But why? Why did you do this?"

"Because you asked," Jirachi told him.

"But, but why?" Harry pressed. "What's so special about me?"

"Everything," Jirachi cheered. It cocked its head to the side. "You are special. I am not. See me?" Jirachi twirled in the air. "I am just a Pokémon."

"I don't understand," Harry frowned. He shook his head. This wasn't making any sense. "If you are a Pokémon, but you created Pokémon, then… how? How could you grant my wish? You shouldn't have even existed."

"But I did," Jirachi assured him. "I did, inside of you." Jirachi soared forward and poked Harry in the chest. It giggled, and flew away, stopping to hover before him again. "It wasn't me that created this world. It was you."

"Me?"

Jirachi flipped over excitedly.

"Yes, you," it cheered. "You created me. And I created this. So you did too. Everything you have seen, everything you have touched, is all because of you. It only exists for you."

"But…" Harry gaped. "I don't understand. How?" He shook his head. "How could all of this…" He gestured around the cavern, over Jirachi. "How could I have done this? How could anyone…"

"Magic," said Jirachi. It smiled. "You're a wizard, Harry." Jirachi giggled, as if it was a joke only it understood. "A being of untold strength and power. Capable of creating worlds with just a thought."

Harry gaped.

"I…"

"Think about it," Jirachi told him. "The vanishing glass, the locked cupboard door, the branch that fell just right to save you from the river. Normal people don't understand Pokémon, Harry. You have a gift, and with it you created us. None of this would exist, without you."

Harry shook his head. This was crazy, how could any of this be true. And yet…

"But…" he protested. "But I didn't mean to," he said. "I didn't mean to create a new world. I only wished to get away. How could I have done all this without even trying? It's ridiculous."

"Yes," agreed Jirachi. "Ridiculous." Jirachi giggled again. "You have power unlike any other, not even your fellow wizards could do what you have done."

Harry stopped dead. "Fellow wizards?" For a moment everything seemed to stop. His breath froze in his chest.

Jirachi nodded.

"You are not alone, Harry," Jirachi told him. "There are others, in your old world, that hold powers similar to your own. And you have the choice to return, if you want."

"I can do that?" Harry asked, his voice breathless. Imagine a world where he wasn't unusual, where there were people like him, people who would accept him, that would take him away from the hated normalcy of the Dursleys. It was all he'd ever wanted. "I can… I can just say I want to go back. And I'll meet them, the other wizards. And everything will be back to normal?"

"Just say the word," Jirachi told him. "Just tell me what you want and I'll do it. I am the Wish Pokémon. And you made me. Your wish is mine."

Harry stood silent as his mind grappled with what he'd just heard. Magic? Him. The idea was ridiculous, just a week ago Harry would have laughed himself silly at the thought. But these last few days of living in a world he didn't recognise, one where he alone seemed different from all the others. Was magic really so ridiculous in a world of fire breathing hounds and talking snakes?

Harry looked up.

"What will happen," he asked, his voice shaking, "if I decide to go back? Will I meet these other wizards? Will I be happy?"

Jirachi smiled softly.

"A giant called Hagrid will arrive on your eleventh birthday to invite you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Jirachi told him. "There you will face challenges, but you will also make friends, fall in love, be happy."

"And if I stay?"

Jirachi tilted its head.

"There are no wizards in the Pokémon world," it told him. "Only you."

Harry had known it was coming. He allowed his head to fall onto his chest. His time here in the Pokémon world had been the best of his life, but if what Jirachi said was true then he was destined for happiness back home. How could he turn away from a life with people like him, where he had friends and people who cared about him, where he could learn magic and do incredible things. It was an easy decision to make.

But then he looked over his shoulder, to where Rory and Melvin were waiting silently, and doubt began to darken his hope.

"What…" Harry's voice caught in his throat. "What will happen here, if I leave? What will happen to the Pokémon?"

Jirachi looked at him inquisitively.

"What Pokémon?" It asked. "The Pokémon all come from you. Once you are gone they'll just… cease to exist." Harry's stomach churned.

"Cease to exist?" He echoed.

Jirachi nodded.

"It will not hurt," it assured him. "They won't feel a thing. They'll just be gone. Like they never were."

Harry looked back at Rory and Melvin, seeing the uncertainty in their eyes as they heard Jirachi's words. But they didn't speak up. It seemed they realised that this was Harry's decision to make. It was his world he'd created, it was his call.

Harry turned to Jirachi. He swallowed.

"I've made my decision," he said, his mouth very dry. Jirachi nodded.

"You do not need to say it," said Jirachi, gazing upon him with an almost sad expression on its face. "I know exactly what you've chosen." And slowly Jirachi began to rise up into the sky, its body becoming engulfed in a brilliant white light once more that forced them all to look away, blinded. "Your wish is granted."

And with a flash of white light everything fell still.

* * *

**A/N:** And that's it. Next chapter we'll find out what Harry chose and we'll finish this story. In the meantime I hope you enjoyed, please remember to Review, and I'll see you next week for the final chapter.


	12. Back At Privet Drive

This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the Harry Potter universe, which are trademarked by J.K. Rowling. I do not claim ownership of these characters nor the locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, etc. that are Rowling's creations. This work also includes Pokémon, which belong to the Pokémon Company, and I again claim no ownership of these characters.

I thank both Rowling and the Pokémon Company for the universes they have created that allows me to do something like this for my own entertainment and, hopefully, the entertainment of the readers.

* * *

"Up! Get up! Now!"

Harry awoke in the cupboard under the stairs. Dully wiping his eyes he rose without complaint and opened the door, instinctively dodging as Dudley tried to shove him back inside on his way to the breakfast table.

Bright sunlight illuminated the Dursley household on what was a simply glorious day. It had been a generally bright and warm summer but today in particular seemed to be bursting with light. The Dursleys were going to be taking a trip to the local amusement park today. Harry, meanwhile, would be spending the day in his cupboard.

Harry idly thought about how he was going to entertain himself as he cooked some bacon and eggs, barely acknowledging Uncle Vernon's complaints for him to hurry up. It wasn't much of a worry. He had plenty of practice after all. But it did help keep his mind off things.

With the bacon ready and the eggs just slightly burnt - the way Uncle Vernon liked them - Harry transferred the food to the table and retreated back into the kitchen. He looked down at the food he had saved for himself but, not feeling particularly hungry, he ignored it, his eyes moving instead to the calendar hung on the wall.

July 31st. His eleventh birthday.

It was all he could think about. Ever since that day he'd found Jirachi and discovered the truth about the Pokémon world he'd been waiting for this day. A part of him, a small part he tried to ignore as much as possible, felt as though this day would settle wether he'd made the right decision, that somehow it would all become clear, but the rest of him saw it only as a reminder. A reminder of what he'd chosen to give up.

Movement caught Harry's attention and he glanced sideways.

"You can have it," he said dully, pushing his plate across the counter. Dudley's Slakoth slowly raised himself appreciatively towards the meal.

It had been a long month after Harry's impromptu journey into the wilderness. He hadn't been out of the house since. The Dursleys were furious at him for leaving. Somehow, inexplicably, they'd managed to hide the fact that Harry had run away, but that by no means meant they hadn't been deathly afraid of someone finding out.

As a result Harry hadn't been allowed to do anything that could give him the opportunity to leave again. Aunt Petunia had even taken it upon herself to weed the flower bed just to make sure Harry stayed indoors, and that they could keep him firmly locked up.

With a sigh Harry turned to the sink, starting the water running to clean the dishes. As he started, working on the frying pan first as it was always the trickiest, he wondered how Rory, Shiela and Melvin were doing. They'd parted company once they'd returned to Little Whinging, with Selena and Bob saying goodbye even before that, and Harry had held out hope that he'd be able to keep in touch with them once all this was over.

But of course maybe they'd been caught by now, Harry thought dully. Or maybe they'd had to move on to somewhere new. Harry wouldn't begrudge them. But in this world - in either world really - they had been the closest thing he'd ever had to friends. It's why he couldn't go back to where he came from, no matter what Jirachi told him.

The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Aunt Petunia said primly, rising from the table as her husband and son continued eating. "Brionne, assist Harry with the dishes."

The water type Pokémon appeared next to Harry in a flash of red light and gave a happy cheer. Despite himself Harry smiled. At least it seemed there'd been some benefit to sticking with the Pokémon world.

As Aunt Petunia answered the door Harry got to work, Brionne helpfully lending bubbles and water to the process, and Harry began to find his mind drifting away at the mechanical process. Maybe he was stuck for now, but one of these days he'd be allowed to leave. One of these days he'd make something of himself. It may not be what Jirachi promised, but life as a Pokémon trainer sounded good.

"There he is."

Harry blinked. The unfamiliar voice that sounded behind him broke his attention and he turned, startled to find a new person standing in the doorway. He was tall, with very broad shoulders, a huge fur coat despite the weather outside, and a great big bushy beard behind which sat a smiling face.

"Harry Potter," the man beamed, holding his arms out wide as if to hug him. "You look just like your father, but you've got your mum's eyes."

Harry blinked. Could he be…?

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself," the man grinned depreciatively. "The name's Hagrid, Gamekeeper for Hogwarts School of Pokémon Training. And this here letter is for you."

He held out a single white envelope and Harry reached out a trembling hand. He couldn't believe it. He gaped openmouthed at the back of the envelope, upon which a seal was emblazoned with a coat of arms featuring four creatures, four Pokémon, around a large letter H.

Hagrid chuckled. "I had been warned you might be a little surprised," he said lightly. "I bumped into some friends of yours along the way."

Harry looked up.

Rory, Shiela and Melvin stood in the Dursleys' kitchen, each one of them staring up towards him. Harry's mouth fell open, his heart skipped a beat, and he stared, unable to form words.

And then he heard Rory's voice inside his head.

"You gave up everything for us," he told him, standing staunchly under Harry's shocked gaze. "You gave up your happiness for ours. I am honoured to call you my friend, Harry Potter. And together we will go on your journey with you. The future Jirachi spoke of, we'll make it come true."

Harry couldn't form a reply. He couldn't think of anything to say, his mind overloaded emotion, rushing through his head and blinding him. He blinked, wiping at his face automatically, and as his fingers became damp he realised he was crying. Then he looked back to where Rory, Shiela and Melvin waited.

"Thank you," he said, and that was all he could manage before he fell to his knees, pulling the three Pokémon close, as the tears ran freely down his cheeks.

* * *

**A/N:** And there we have it. Harry gets a happy ending after all. It may not be back in his old world, but he'll still have the chance to make the same old friends, to enjoy his Hogwarts years and beyond, and all without a cursed scar, a prophecy, and a dark lord looming over him. Harry chose selflessly, and as such he was rewarded.

I'd like to thank everyone who has been following this story and has let me know how they've enjoyed it. I have no plan for a sequel at this time and I highly doubt I will in the future. Another seven years worth of Harry's life with Pokémon is a lot of writing, and I'd need to have a lot of ideas and inspiration if I were ever to try it. That being said I always have more ideas for stories so if you've enjoyed this you can follow me here or also on twitter at KnightWolfsbane where I post updates and you can contact me if you have any questions.

So, with all that said, thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed 'A Magical Wish'.


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